Endstille: The first two great catastrophes
by kstefan88
Summary: A young woman, tired of killing, trying to make a better world. As she grows to become the warrior the organization wants her to be she steadily discovers the truth behind what is going on in the world. And when powers defying human understanding begin to meddle the only path open is the one leading towards despair. Only OC, M for content, more is definite to come. Enjoy.
1. The promising problem child

DICLAIMER: I do not own Claymore or its official characters. I do own my characters, non-canon story and alterations/expansions of the Claymore universe.

I am not going to say much, but "Endstille: The first two great catastrophes" will exclusively feature OCs. Those who have read Blankface will sooner or later see similarities in the story/characters. Consider Blankface an unfinished pilot. This will not meddle with the official story, at best make slight alterations to the universe. It will, however, extend the universe a lot.

Please enjoy.

* * *

 **001 – The promising problem child**

Her empty eyes were staring into the overcast sky as in an attempt to tear it open. The barren lowlands around her were wreathed in mist and the radiant silver of her eyes was the only bright spot within kilometers. Enough for Lorenz, who was used to finding people like her in places one could usually not find them, unless one was aware of their presence. So, the bald man clad purely in black eventually found one of his girls, as he tended to call them.

"Karin" he spoke upon reaching her. She did not react. "Have you successfully finished your job?" She then sat up straight. "I am alive" she answered without the slightest hint of emotion in her voice.

"You know what I am talking about" the man in black urged her. "You are being watched. The higher ups are barely willing to clean up after you anymore. You…"

"All four of them are dead" she cut in.

He waited for a moment, then sighed. "You know, I am not saying this to be on your nerves. But if you continue to fail to accomplish the objectives of your missions, you will never get anywhere. You are talented and your talents are in demand. But all you do is wasting them, because you are hoping for a solution to a problem that only has one solution: to kill. I know, I know, you don't like it at all, but if you let a Yoma get away you are destroying more lives than you save!"

She then stood up, towering over the 180 centimeter tall man by more than a head's height. Her blonde hair that was bound to a ponytail reaching down to her lower back was then shining in the moonlight. After a short while of staring into no direction in particular she said with a lifeless voice: "The first Yoma I murdered was my brother. I became what I am fully aware of how other Yoma are the brothers of other little girls. I deeply respect those who can take away little girl's big brothers without a second thought. I can't."

A fierce pat from Lorenz hit her back that made her stumble slightly. As she wanted to complain, "Idiot!" resounded in her ears. A bit surprised she directed her gaze towards the man who was then looking at her with the austerity of a father chiding his child. "Let me tell you, you are not the only one feeling this way. The other girls don't feel differently about it, either. However, they have come to understand something crucial: If the only path available for one to walk will leave a trace of blood and corpses, one can either walk it or die without ever accomplishing anything."

"Is it not favorable to never achieve anything then, if murder is all one could achieve?"

"Somebody having the honor of bearing the name of the goddess of endmost tranquility should not think that way!"

Karin blinked amazedly. "You believe in those old fairytales?"

"No fairytales, idiot!" he countered harshly. "Sha-Karin, the ancient goddess of endmost tranquility, has ever since laid rest upon those who could not find it themselves…"

"…by killing them" Karin deadpanned.

"Think whatever you will, idiot" Lorenz answered shaking his head in disappointment. "I got a new job for you. Two day's marches to the north. Three Yoma are there, so I want three corpses."

Without a word she turned away, pulled her claymore out of the dry ground and struck off.

"Spread tranquility!" Lorenz called after her and chuckled faintly. She ignored him and eventually merged with the surroundings.

As he could not see her anymore he said to no one in particular: "One day you will be able to see that I am by far closer to the truth than you think now." He also set off then. There were others to supply with jobs.

###

The agitated and frightened citizens of the small town she had just entered she did not take into consideration. She knew what all of them knew: she, the "Claymore", as they called her, would once again bring death to their town. It had always been the same. The Yoma killed the humans, the Claymore killed the Yoma. It was the solution the men of the Organization had found and declared practicable. Reciprocate killing with killing, without the chance for the killing to ever stop. Karin was one of the few, possibly the only one, hoping to find a way to break the cycle. She and her comrades were the only bastion between humans and Yoma, who, as hybrids of both, always fell between the cracks – a fact that especially the humans never forgot.

As she passed the people avoiding her she had already made out her victims. Within her burned the desire to warn them so they could flee, because she firmly believed that Yoma could change. But she knew that from somewhere the silver eyes of one of her comrades were watching. It didn't take much imaginative capabilities to know what an association of unscrupulous murderers and their killing machines would do to her if she wouldn't do as told. In nature, predators and prey usually both had somewhat fair chances. In her presence, however, Yoma did not.

An inconspicuous man she passed taken by surprise pointed the tips of his fingers towards his face and, before knowing what was happening, extended his fingers to long, pointy claws impaling his skull. Under the outcry of the people surrounding him he collapsed, dead. Instantly the other two Yoma hiding in the crowd revealed themselves and began charging at Karin. The attacks of their expanding claws shot past her like projectiles, moved in an arc and then shot back at the aggressors to impale their bodies in vital points. In not even a minute the fight, that even wasn't one, was over.

The state of shock of the people made way for astonishment and relieve when they realized that the Yoma were dead. Hastily three men tramped towards the imposingly tall yet fragilely slender warrior which, without even drawing her blade, had eliminated three Yoma that swiftly. The one in front, apparently the town's headman, stuttering and stammering as he was, wanted to hand her a bag tightly filled with Beras, but instantly froze in his tracks as he caught sight of the marmorean face of the warrior. Not expecting him to be capable of uttering a whole another sentence, she preempted him with a trembling, yet lofty voice: "I am not taking money for this massacre. A man in black will come and collect the weregild."

As she was about to leave, she added: "Inter them in dignity contradicting their sad end." Then she left the small town.

Baffled the citizens of the town were looking at each other. They had heard all kinds of rumors about the "Silver Eyed Witches". But never before had they heard that they were able to shed tears.

Remote of the town Karin sat down and leaned against a tree, where she would grieve for hours the deeds she had been forced to do.

###

The sole woman that had not cared about the commotion in the town snapped her book shut and arose from her cozy spot near the town's well. For but a moment she gazed at the cadavers of the three dead Yoma. _Incredible_ , she thought, _that she didn't move a muscle to achieve that_. She then massaged her nasal bone. "Damn drugs" she mumbled. She hoped that she would be able to stop following Number 82 around soon. At first she was glad to have a little diversion from her usual activities, but gradually she grew tired of it. However, she thought the fighting style of that woman to be highly interesting. Yoki manipulation was rare, especially on higher levels. In fact, only one warrior of the organization could use it to a degree allowing her to take on dangerous enemies. She began to see what the men of the organization saw in that crybaby. "Crybaby Karin." She chuckled as she thought that she might be called that in the future. She then left the town to debrief Lorenz about his "ugly duckling".

###

A small fire was crackling amidst a pit made of gravel. Its glow reflected in two pairs of eyes: A silver one and a grey blue one. Animatedly but factually Anna reported about her observations regarding Karin, or Number 82, as she preferred addressing the warrior not personally known to her. Her rank, so she told him, was not reflecting her abilities, but rather her mindset. Actually, or so Anna judged Karin, she should have to work very much closer to the center of the continent, just like she did herself. "The borderlands of the inner ring, would be much more suited for her" the higher ranked warrior explained to Lorenz, who absorbed every word intently. Out of the 23 warriors of the southern-east lands Anna was the one he trusted most when it came to judging the potential of one of her comrades.

"You think she should go to the north-west?" he inquired.

"Not remotely!" Anna countered. "She should go to region seventy-five, better yet thirty."

Lorenz raised an eyebrow. "Don't look at me like that! She might have a strange mindset, but after having followed her for three months there is but one advice I can give you: Throw her to an Awakened One. Either she manages to overcome her obscure ideals and becomes a big shot in the future, or she dies the death of the ones not fit for fighting. One thing is for sure, though, Lorenz. If you let her stay in Region eighty-two she will never change her mind. I daresay that she might grow up to be a danger to the organization in the future."

"Her?"

"Indeed. Within her is hidden much more than your eyes are able to grasp."

Lorenz gave Anna's statements some thought. Indeed, Karin's behavior had gotten better, only because she knew that she had been watched, though. If he would just withdraw Anna from her mission it would be very likely for Karin to just go back to her old ways of letting Yoma slip away all the time. Also, both region 75 and 30 were located next to the organization's headquarters. Better places to watch a problem child barely existed. He made his decision and arose.

"You have me convinced, Anna. She will be promoted to rank thirty and send to the region, accordingly. Sarah will have to make room for her, but I suppose you don't particularly mind?"

A wicked smile appeared on Anna's lips.

"I will be on my way now. Your mission here is done, you may go back to region twenty-one and wait for further instructions."

"Yessir!" she replied.

As Lorenz was moving away she thought about the gooseberry pie her region was famous for and for but a moment, even though it rarely happened to warriors like her, she had the feeling of being hungry.

###

"Ayame?" Lorenz whispered into the night as he became aware of a shadowy figure hiding in the trees. She remained silent. "There is someone who needs to meet an unfavorable fate…"

For a while neither of them said anything. Then Ayame spoke up: "Who am I, your personal assassin?"

"It's Sarah from region thirty. We don't need her anymore" Lorenz replied coldheartedly.

"No traces left?"

"No traces left."

###

Carefully Karin opened her eyes as the first sunrays of the day broke through the foliage of the trees. It was obviously too early for her which became clear to her as her first try to get up fell down due to her apparently still sleeping body. Wide awake she became upon feeling a Yoki right next to her. Blazingly fast she grasped her Claymore and struck.

Her blade stopped just millimeters away from the aghast face of a young man.

"Jonas?" she asked blinking the sleep out of her eyes. "I barely recognized you."

The Yoma's heart was pounding as he dropped onto his rear. "Barely recognized!" he stammered agitatedly. "As if you hadn't recognized a Yoki!"

For a split second her labial angles twitched upwards, carrying a slight bit of life into her face. "Regard it as punishment for waking me up this early. Glad you are here."

He stood up and grumblingly knocked the dust off of his clothes. He then sat down again, this time on purpose, and, getting a little cheery, asked: "'Sup, Kari?"

"I do have good news as well as bad news. First things first, however, how do you manage?"

"Since our meeting last month I have only eaten non-human food. It is terribly exhausting – mentally – but it does not seem to affect me physically. Me still being in this body should prove my words. On this occasion, let me say that it is good having someone like you, giving us the chance to live. Sucks, though, that your way of treating us has lured in less favorable people."

"What do you mean?" she asked a little dazed.

"Well, those of us that are really trying are leaving the humans alone, but your lax way of doing your missions has spread like a wildfire. Yoma are coming from other regions, believing you will let them be as long as they front to be willing to forgo eating humans. Carsten is an example of such people."

"He strives, but just doesn't manage yet. He needs time."

"Time his victims don't have! Not, that it bothers me much, but he is abusing your kindness, trust me."

"I will have an eye on him if you say so. Well, I'd like to, at least."

"Hum?"

"I am leaving this region. I've been promoted to rank thirty."

"You are kidding, right?" Jonas went indignant. "Are you saying we will again get such an indoctrinated slayer like before?"

"That is what I fear" Karin replied pitifully. "I need to decamp today. Hence I have got something to ask of you, Jonas."

"Whatever you wish!" the Yoma eagerly replied and began to listen attentively.

"Spread the word. Who wants to shall follow me. Separately, in pairs at most. And not in the next few days. I might have been released of my watchdog, but fifty Yoma following me as a pack would surely raise suspicion."

Jonas nodded understandingly. "I will let the others know" he said and leapt to his feet. "Oh, and there is something you might want to know."

"What is it?"

"Tarun… is gone" he said cautiously.

Agitatedly her gaze flashed towards him.

"It has, you might say, vanished over night. I do not know for sure, but don't get close to its ruins. As word has it, an Awakened One is there."

"Strange, isn't it" Karin deadpanned, her gaze glued to the ground, "I did not sense any Yoki."

"The Ogre himself could rampage right next to you if you're sleeping" he exuberantly said.

"Touché! I will have a look at it" she said, arose and, before Jonas was able to remind her of what he had just told her concerning getting close to Tarun, had left.

"Geez" he grunted in mental defeat. "It's Kari. Won't die that easily. I hope."

Shortly after he set off, too, to relay it to those he thought of as thorough supporters of Karin's ideals, that she had been promoted.

###

After four days of restless marching Karin picked up the Yoki of an Awakened Being, just as her Yoma friend Jonas had told her. Also the ruin of the once prospering, yet early deceased town of Tarun came into sight. She was able to remember very well how she had met Jonas there half a year before, wailing and cowering in the intestines of his family, begging her to free him of his fate. Instead, she had decided to befriend him like she had done with other Yoma before. She firmly believed that Yoma could live without preying on humans if they believed they could. And the utterly human traits she had sensed in him that day had convinced her that he could do it. He, meeting him in Tarun and the town itself – to her they were a memento for her idea and her struggle.

Filled with hatred she regarded the destroyed town, the violated ideograph of her dream of a world, were Yoma could peacefully live alongside humans. She knew that she could not reason with an Awakened Being, a former comrade who had abandoned humanity.

And she did not want to.

She drew her claymore and determinedly advanced.

###

Upon entering the ruins of Tarun, Karin could feel a huge Yoki filling the air. Close up, she had to admit, it appeared to be menacing. She judged that it had to be the Yoki of a warrior who had once served in the inner circle, just like herself. But she could also sense something even more dangerous hiding behind its facade. When she had first sensed that Yoki she had been confident, but her confidence was fading away by the minute. For a moment she considered turning back and leaving that monster to others, because she had not been detected then. However, and that is what she felt, it was her battle. Her heart only beat for the sake of her ideals – not to kill if there was a hope, however slight it might have been, to resolve it in another way. And even though she was well aware that one could not reason with an Awakened Being, that one could not lead her onto a better path, even though she thoroughly hated that monster for what it had done to Tarun and its citizens, she was bothered by the fact that she, after a long time, was going into battle willing to kill.

A scream tore apart the air. Instinctively Karin hastened her steps, hurrying towards the place she suspected the scream to originate from: the marketplace. Getting closer and closer she noticed cocoonesque structures in the streets. Instantly she realized that those structures were emitting Yoki. That explained, so she assumed, why the Yoki she felt was not originating from one place, but was scattered all over the town. And the closer she came to the marketplace, the center of the town, the more pressing the Awakened's Yoki became.

Abruptly she stopped in her tracks as a bundle of subtle strands of a sticky mass hit and entangled her left lower arm. Her instinctive approach of cutting it with her claymore rendered as a mistake, because, instead of actually cutting through it her claymore became entangled in it, too. She did try to pull it out of the mass, but the more she moved it the more entangled it became. Noticing the movement of more Yoki she avoided another bundle of strands of the sticky mass that had hit her in the middle of her face with a leap. Visually following the strands to their origins she noticed how they had come out of two of the cocoonesque structures surrounding her. Instantly both of them broke open and two black, many-legged creatures emerged from them.

"This is just great" Karin mumbled. "Spiders, is that not awesome" she grunted sarcastically. Both of them clearly had more Yoki than the average Yoma. And obviously the sticky mass, that had entangled her left lower arm and her claymore, was their doing.

Two other bundles of strands meant to hit her chest and face she was able to fend off with her already hard to move claymore, making it totally unusable. _Shoot_ , she thought, _concentrate_! Blunders like this would sooner or later cost her life, of that she was sure. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath and attuned her mind to the Yoki surrounding her. Then two attacks missed her, then another two. Unaware of why this happened, the two arachnoids decided to attack the warrior facing them directly and crawled towards her using the two strands entangling her as foothold.

The tall warrior found herself in a difficult situation: She could barely move and her weapon was all gummed up. At this rate the arachnoids would kill her before she could even lay eyes onto the Awakened One! She had to find a solution, quickly.

She was able to knock back the first monster with a kick. Letting go of her useless claymore she attempted to punch the second one, but ended up being bitten into her fist. Along with the scorching pain crouching up her right arm, her flesh decayed right before her eyes. Despite the immobilizing pain she watched what was happening in awe. It was, as if those creature had injected pure Yoki into her – with dire consequences for her arm, but giving her a brilliant idea.

"This is fairly interesting" she said as her eyes turned golden.

###

Anna stood atop an elevation and regarded the ruins of the town of Tarun. Clearly she could sense the Yoki of the Awakened Being. "It's just a facade" she thought aloud, "a lure, possibly. What is hiding behind it is… dangerous. And that idiot just ran slapdash into such an obvious trap!"

Attentively, with a stern face, she watched the situation. She gauged, that a group led by a warrior in the lower two digit ranks had to be the minimum array to face that monster. She made a mental note to later inform Lorenz about the quality of that monster.

She was about to write Karin off as, amidst the huge, ugly mass of Yoki, a small, bright and very dense Yoki appeared. Her eyes widened in genuine surprise. "Our little Yoma lover… won't be, at the very start of her career… on a roll?"

For a moment she considered getting closer, yet decided to stay put and not pop up on the Awakened Being's radar.

###

The white, sticky mass entangling her arm and blade turned black and dripped to the ground. The rotten flesh of her right arm regenerated swiftly and she again could grab the handle of her claymore that was yet again free of its restraints.

Both of the arachnoids shrunk back off her.

"A truly… interesting knack you've shown me. I don't think I would have found out myself." In a blink she rushed next to one of the monsters and impaled its body with her blade, ramming it into the ground. The second one flew. While her victim twitched for the last time she regarded her right arm. "As good as new" she commented objectively. Her cold gaze was then following the fleeing arachnid. "You pump your Yoki into a foreign body and drive out the endogenous Yoki. Unused to the foreign Yoki, so, as if it was only kept together by its own Yoki, the tissue decays and melts like butter in the sun. Truly" she praised as she was dashing towards the fleeing monster, skillfully cutting it in half, "that is impressively helpful knowledge."

As the second enemy was down she closed her eyes and took a deep breath again. Upon opening them again her eyes' color had returned to its usual silver. Directing her gaze towards the marketplace she said: "Let's see to your master, then." With solidified courage she proceeded to head towards the Awakened One.

###

"That little Yoma lover is good" Anna had to admit. "But will she be able to make it?" Her temporarily lightened up face darkened. "This Awakened One… from somewhere… however, in any case she will be hard to deal with. What will you do about her, little number thirty? She should have noticed your Yoki by now. It's standing out like a tree on a meadow. As soon as she shows her true power… will you live or will you die?"

###

Leaving a trace of dismantled arachnoids she advanced through the streets of Tarun's ruins with the tranquility of the powerful. The short moment of peril and learning of a new way to user her Yoki manipulation skills had restored her calmness she had lost when laying eyes onto the destroyed Tarun for the first time. Suddenly everything had become easy: effortlessly she was able to manipulate the trajectories of the sticky strands of the monsters so they would hit and immobilize each other. What was left was striking and killing.

 _Almost hilarious_ , she thought, _how a few emotions could make me this useless_. Her determination to kill the Awakened Being had strengthened. It was necessary and hence there was no reason for her to falter in her decision. Basically, even though Awakened Beings were once human, they had forgone all sense for reason and humanity completely. There was no reason for such beings to exist.

Karin knew that the Awakened One must have felt safe. Shallowly observed her Yoki did not seem special at all, but if one took a closer look one could see enormous masses of Yoki hidden behind it. But despite being a considerable amount it was tenuous and barely comparable to Karin's. She was convinced: She would shoot that monster down in flames!

Due to her own cockiness schadenfreude began to emerge. Schadenfreude, because the Awakened Being was likely exorbitantly overestimating herself.

###

The slender hand of the Awakened Being reached into the open abdomen of the still warm body of her victim. Tenderly her fingers slid around a kidney and carefully pulled it out of the corpse. Using her fingernails she separated veins still connected to the intestine. She arose and held the intestine upwards, regarding it in the bright sunlight. The shiny surface of the blood on it conjured a playful smile on the brunette woman's face. "What an astoundingly beautiful color" she romanticized and proceeded to hold the ruby mass above her face. Blood dripped onto her forehead and cheeks and a wave of lust rolled through her body. Again she squat down next to her victim and caressed his face with the devotion of a lover. Her longing gaze met the dead eyes of the young man she had murdered. Still they were reflecting the agony he had been through. "If you just… would still be screaming, my beloved. It aggrieves me that you can not enjoy our game anymore. I loved every second of it and surely did you."

The woman arose and let her gaze wander to the end of a street where the tall figure of a warrior was standing. "But now" she said plaintively, "our game would have been interrupted anyways. Am I not right, warrior?"

Karin felt the Yoki of the Awakened Being scattered all over the marketplace. She could count about 30 cocoons and also noticed that the greater part of the ground was covered by the sticky phlegm of the arachnoids. All over the place there were lying corpses of exclusively young men and women. And amidst all of it there stood a sole, naked woman who was sentimentally smiling. The Awakened One. She opened her mouth that became a gaping maw, shoved the kidney she was holding in and swallowed it whole.

Unemotionally Karin just stood there and regarded the woman she was about to kill. Whatever she had felt so far was gone. No hatred because her Tarun was destroyed, no grief over the murdered people and even the semblance of schadenfreude she had had were gone. Only the conviction that this kind of monster was incurable, had to be, had manifested in every cell of her body. The human traits she could sense in many Yoma, even though this Awakened One had actually been a human before, was entirely cleansed off her.

"You aren't saying anything" the Awakened One sneered. "You now, others at least call me names, become mentally disturbed and that one time one of them actually fainted upon seeing me enjoy myself. But you are just standing there with a face as if made of stone, like this here was the most normal thing in the world to you. Hello? Are you even listening?"

With staged idleness Karin drew her claymore. "I am Karin, the organization's number thirty. I am here for your head."

For a moment it was quite. Then the Awakened One began to laugh lustily. She rested her hands on her tights and literally convulsed in laughter. She tried to say something, but was completely unable to, for the imagination of number 30 killing her on her own was absolutely hilarious. Karin ignored her and just remained standing there with the tranquility of a mountain. Amidst corpses and cocoons.

After a while the Awakened Being calmed down and caught her breath again. "You're a strange one! Or are the old farts in black this desperate, sending me a cardboard character like you? One could think they want to get rid of you!"

"Are you done running your mouth then?" Karin interrupted her. The other woman blinked in surprise. "My apologies for wanting you to have one last, nice chat before you are dying. But I can see that you are not interested and the last thing I'd want is to bore you. Shall we, then?"

"Come!" Karin answered plainly.

Almost simultaneously all of the cocoons on the marketplace broke open and about thirty of the arachnoids were swarming over the place, towards Karin. The latter closed her eyes and tuned in her mind with the Yoki of her enemies. Meanwhile the Awakened One jumped atop a statue in the middle of the marketplace and proceeded to observe what was happening. Her spiders did not stand a chance: not a single one of their attacks hit what they were supposed to. On the contrary they were only hitting each other, hence ending up immobilized and becoming easy targets for the expressionless warrior's blade. The analysis of the Awakened One was that number 30 was a manipulator, an outstanding one at that. Using her inner eye she also had watched the first skirmish between the warrior and her Arachnoids and seen that the Yoki of her opponent also was of considerable amount and quality.

 _Maybe it won't be all that boring_ , she thought.

After the last Yoki of her arachnoids had vanished the Awakened One sarcastically slowly clapped her hands a few times. Karin paid her no attention. She was trying to sense other arachnoids but could not find any more of them. It was but then that she directed her gaze towards the Awakened Being who was confidently standing atop the statue of the ancient goddess Sha-Karin.

"Did you know" the Awakened One pondered aloud, "that another group of warriors failed to defeat them in the past? It was a superb tragedy how all of them cried and screamed as their immobilized bodies decayed right before their very eyes. And you just beat a whole lot of them with flying colors. You've earned yourself my respect."

"Sorry about that," the warrior interrupted the Awakened One, "but I really don't care about your praise. Actually, it's insulting. Still…" she then fully faced her, "it is regrettable to hear that a lowly number thirty like myself outclassed an Awakened Being hunting party. They probably were the four lowest ranking warriors on this continent. There is no other way I could picture them losing to you, otherwise."

After a moment of perplexed astonishment the Awakened One chuckled. "Are you actually trying to provoke me? That is so cute! But just so you know, that party was led by number forty-four. And as you surely are aware, this means that she is operating closer to the center than you are – in other words, her rank is higher."

"Out of respect for my fallen comrades I am not going to comment on that" Karin replied.

"Pathetic? Baleful? Laughable? Come on, you were about to unbend a little just now, why would you quiet down again?"

"For a dying person you surely talk a lot."

All expression was then leaving the Awakened One's face to be replaced by patronizing anger. "Dying! Me? By your hands?" She jumped off of the statue and instantly released all of her Yoki at once. "Don't be so cocky, brat!" her distorted voice growled all over the marketplace.

"I will teach you pain!"

###

Anna gulped as she could feel the unleashed Yoki of the Awakened One. She had known about its size, yet feeling it directly let her hair stood on end. In addition to that she could now recognize the Yoki. "That can't be true" she stammered in shock.

"What can't be true?" Lorenz asked interestedly as he was stepping out of the bushes behind her.

"You, here?" Anna asked a little startled.

"Karin is not in region thirty where she should be. You might not happen to know where she is?"

"I do" Anna replied and gulped. "Down there, in Tarun."

"My, my" Lorenz commented the sight in staged surprise, "what happened there?"

"No what, rather who."

"My, my. Who did that idiot pick a fight with this time?"

"Crimson Ariane" Anna answered sternly.

Lorenz laid, secretly grinning, his hand onto his forehead. "My, how dire is it?"

"Are you seriously asking me that?"

"Answer."

"If I must" Anna sighed. "Ariane is quicker, stronger, has more Yoki and is by far more experienced than number thirty. She used to have my position before she awakened, after all. If you take into account, what calibers she has already killed after awakening, the only possible end for number thirty is death" Anna explained her thinking.

Lorenz sat down next to Anna, who gave him a questioning look and for a while neither said a thing. Anna was watching the battle from afar, as Lorenz suddenly broke the silence: "I know you and your abilities well and greatly trust your sense of judgment. But, from time to time, even someone like you can learn something new."

"What do you mean?" Anna asked, right before a deafening noise was to be heard coming from the ruins. The silver eyed warrior did not trust her eyes as she saw the center of the ruins burst into flames. "What is this?" she asked in disbelief. A Yoki so powerful she could not remember ever having felt something like that almost took her senses away.

"Two things are not quite right. While it is true that Ariane has spent more time as a warrior than Karin it is also true that Karin has senses so skilled that even Ariane would have trouble landing hits. On the other hand Ariane may have more Yoki than Karin, but Karin's is so much more dense that objects in her surroundings sometimes just ignite – as you can see."

"That is unbelievable!"

"You see now, Anna," he berated her, "it is too soon to include her into your prayers."

* * *

I hope it is interesting so far. Please, tell me what you think.

I am not going to say that I will update on a fixed shedule, but I have material for about 40 chapters that I "only" need to translate. Second chapter to be expected still in August.


	2. Crimson Ariane's slayer

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Claymore. I own the OCs and the story I wrote.

As promised, here comes the second chapter, giving some (hopefully) interesting insight on the stae of affairs.

Enjoy!

* * *

 **002 – Crimson Ariane's slayer**

Fleet-footedly skipping around Karin was avoiding Ariane's attempts to scrunch her with her legs. After one of those attacks had torn off her left arm she had decided to quit trying to manipulate her enemy's Yoki and focus on avoiding attacks instead which she pulled off flawlessly. However, she had to forgo regenerating her lost arm in favor of her concentration. Ariane soon understood that she was not as frightening to her opponent as she was used to from encounters with other Organization's warriors. And it disgruntled her. Additionally she was unable to land more hits because Karin was able to read her movements so splendidly she could dodge before Ariane even set in motion. This could have continued forever and it was boring her to no ends since not a single droplet of blood had been shed since Karin had begun reading her like a book.

Spontaneously she pulled back and brought a few meters of distance between her and the warrior. Instantly Karin began regenerating her left arm which Ariane ignored. Instead she pierced the corpse of one of her victims, picked it up and then devoured it whole. The warrior used the breather to come up with a strategy.

Ariane's awakened body had eight frail looking yet strong legs that could effortlessly impale her body. Her bulky lower body was at all times about two meters above the ground and due to the protection its legs granted untouchable to Karin. Atop the rotund lower body sat enthroned the overly large human torso, having four arms similar to her legs. From the way the Yoki was flowing through her joints Karin could judge that they were able to be bent in all directions. She so was left with but two options: Firstly she could try to rob her enemy off her legs in order to bring her to the ground, which would prove difficult due to her having to avoid her attacks while attacking her and secondly, she could try to somehow get atop her lower body to attack the upper body directly, which was also more than two meters in height. She would have to attack above her head which would leave her own body defenseless. That time she would not be able to utilize her usually helpful height advantage.

"You know, little one," Ariane said while the corpse was still on its way to her stomach, "you're an evasive one. But I will do something about it now." With the exoskeleton of her legs scrunching she squat down in order to leap several stories up in the air. Predicting the danger Karin jumped aside, barely avoiding being hit by a man high ball of the sticky white mass that was already spread all over the marketplace, that Ariane had just vomited. As soon as the mass hit the ground it burst and covered everything within a radius of ten meters. Some chunks of it hit Karin and stuck to her wherefore she emitted a short burst of Yoki directly into them in order to burn them. For a matter of split seconds that took away her sight of Ariane's Yoki and so she leapt away too late to avoid the sharp end of Ariane's leg – she had suddenly appeared next to her – and hence it impaled her left leg between its shinbones and literally blast away her foot. Karin tripped, tried to break her fall using her only half regenerated left arm and landed on her back.

Ariane speared the severed foot and ate it. Before she could rant about the disgusting taste she realized that her prey was already using Yoki to regenerate her missing foot. She raised one of her legs, its tip separated itself into several thin spikes and one of them extended and shot through Karin's right wrist like a bullet.

"Hum… not a single sound?" Ariane wondered. Another attack hit Karin's abdomen. "Still quiet?" Another one hit her left shoulder. Nothing. Another one the left thigh. Nothing. Another one right through the pelvis. Nothing.

"What is the meaning of this?" Ariane sulkily asked. "I'm doing my best to give you an enjoyable time of utter pain and you don't even twitch once? That's impolite! And no fun, either."

She pulled out every part of her separated leg's tip of Karin's body and they fused together again. She then turned away. Getting menacingly serious all of a sudden she stated: "At the very least you won't be able to run like this. And since you're not going to scream for me I see no need to dirty my hands myself."

She crawled over to one of the human corpses, bent down and bit it. She then arose and faced Karin again to say: "You know, killing is utterly boring, but what comes before that equals heaven on earth. The screams, the horrible grimaces of agony and the squirming of my victims enjoying the sweetest of torments – I envy them so much! It is so sad when they eventually die. But you, who I had planned on giving extra special service, just insolently ignore all those dreamlike treats? You are not worthy of my attention!"

The man's corpse she had bitten began to twitch. Under the doubting eyes of Karin he arose and began to emit Yoki – the Yoki of a Yoma! Screaming in agony his dead body turned into that of a Yoma and instantly he began to feast on the surrounding corpse's innards. "Take care of her once you are done" Ariane ordered him. Regarding her for but a moment he nodded and continued to guzzle.

"The corpse… became a Yoma?" the warrior uttered in shock. Instinctively Ariane sensed her last chance of being amused by number 30 and lied: "Naturally. Yoma are created by Awakened Beings in the exact same way you just witnessed."

"Then… my brother…" Karin stammered.

"Huh?" Ariane taunted, having a wicked grin appear on her face. "Your brother was a Yoma?"

Karin's pupils shrank to mere dots upon imagining what her brother must have had gone through. Silent tears where frequently rolling over her face. _I almost got her_ , Ariane thought triumphantly. A wide smile of natural, infantile joy appeared on her face before she sealed her fate: "Trust me, girl, he has enjoyed his last moments as a human like no one before!"

She could see it as clearly as if it happened right then: her brother, forced on his back, struggling and screaming due to Ariane's maltreating.

And then she lost it.

Up to her limits she unleashed her Yoki. Due to its abnormally high energy density the paving around her turned black and everything on the plaza was set aflame: the arachnoids' corpses and the sticky white mass as well as the human corpses still lying around. The Yoma turned to ash instantly and even Ariane suffered a considerable amount of damage. Crying and brimming with joy she repeatedly screamed: "It burns! It superbly burns!"

The flames on her body died down as the sudden eruption of Karin's Yoki slightly subsided and her Yoki emission became consistent above half of her capacity. The instant Ariane wanted to look at her and see why she would stop, the warrior already was between her legs and severed them all neatly with a sweeping swipe. While dropping she wanted to say something, but the kick of the considerably smaller warrior sent her massy body flying and she crashed right into the statue of the goddess Sha-Karin, which surprisingly withstood the impact.

As she still recovered from the severe kick she had suffered, two invisibly fast sword strokes took all of her arms. Another one severed her upper body from her lower one and another kick sent her flying back about a dozen meters back onto the plaza.

She ended up lying on her front side, coughing up and spitting purple blood. She turned her head to see where the warrior was, as the latter's naked left food ungently placed itself on the side of her face. Her eyes wandered upwards the body of her slayer. Although being fully regenerated, her uniform was in tatters and blood was all over her. And although her face was distorted by her Yoki, there was no emotion in it at all.

Smiling in defiant content Ariane said: "Who would have guessed? Little number thirty is full of surprises."

"My name is Karin. Remember it, for it is the name of the one who murdered you."

"Also remember my name, then. I am…"

Before she could finish her sentence her head was squashed by Karin's foot.

She turned away and closed her eyes. Taking a deep breath she astoundingly effortlessly suppressed her Yoki to the point of it being almost imperceptible. It was then when she realized that the Awakened Being must have lied. After all there could not be Awakened Beings without Yoma existing before them, hence not all Yoma could be made by Awakened Beings. But some where, she concluded. Just one more reason to her to give them a chance to live.

###

Anna could not believe her inner eye as the Yoki of Ariane vanished for good.

"What is it, Anna?" Lorenz asked when Anna respired.

"Ariane is actually dead and number thirty lives. She was in a dire state before, but for some reason she managed to pull off that stunt and killed her like it was nothing."

"Impressive indeed" Lorenz stated praisingly just as if Karin could have heard him. He arose, turned around and was about to leave as Anna stopped him: "Honestly, now. Just who is that girl?"

Lorenz simply smiled. "There are things you don't need to know, Anna."

"But…"

"No discussions now. Just regard her as a comrade who, if she wanted, could take your rank at any given time. And now go back to your region, Anna. Nosiness… won't do you any good."

Sorely she ground her teeth. "Yes, Sir" she grunted at him while he was leaving.

Once again she regarded the dying flames in the ruins of Tarun. "Not even once… I have seen that kind of potential in you. And yet Lorenz did not seem to be surprised in the slightest. Honestly, number thirty, just who in the world are you?"

###

Midst the wastelands between the regions 30 and 75 the mountain fortress of the nameless Organization, which had pledged itself to fighting the Yoma, was located. That was, however, what the inhabitants of the continent, which went by the name "Test Facility 4" within the walls of the fortress, believed. On the unrealistically larger main continent, Unikum – named believing it was the only one in the world – 15 years before an uneven war had broken out: the eastern peninsula Adria had been attacked by the Ashkaram, or Dragonkin. Chanceless at first the humans there had managed to develop a living weapon, a hybrid between a human and a human turned into a Yoma by a so called Parasite. Though being promising it was mostly instable and hence research on it had been relocated to shortly discovered smaller continents. Erema, or Test Facility 4, had been the destination of one of more than 50 expeditions and had been in the hands of the Organization for eleven years then.

Inside of the fortress of said Organization stood Kruos, Chief of Research of that facility, bent over the open body of a young girl. Diligently he was severing veins and other blood vessels in order to extract the organ, which he plainly called "Unimportant" and threw it into a large bin reeking of blood and death.

He was then regarding his work. "Everything gone that was in the way," he commented and grabbed chunks of meat positioned on a small table next to him. Like doing a complex three dimensional puzzle he placed them into the open body as to not leave the tiniest bit of unnecessary space. Grabbing a sticky bucket he carefully poured some Yoma blood into the body in order to fill even the last bit of space. Before his critically peering eyes the flesh of the Yoma began to merge with the one of the girl. Without hesitation he stapled the open abdomen and then the open chest with metal brackets. He then sewed up the girl with something resembling a fishing line.

The trembling movements beneath the abdominal wall of the girl were proof of the transformation going well. Given the girl would not die in the end she would make for a functioning hybrid.

"Well, well" he said, took off his once white coat and his gloves and then took a look on his list. "Subject five hundred and four of generation fifty four done" he commented. He then stepped out of the small surgery and said: "That's the last one for this generation. Get her into her cell and clean up afterwards."

"Yes, Kruos!" two men clad completely in black answered and began their task.

The Chief of Research then proceeded to go to the main hall to inform Chief of Operations Wache that he was done with his work. On his way through the labyrinthine hallways he was wondering if anything worth of his interest had happened during the three weeks he had almost exclusively spent at the operation table. Who did die, who did awaken? Had one of his subjects done anything of interest? _Probably not_ , he thought. _Only she will be the topic of whatever gossip I might hear_. At times he felt that the whole operation on Test Facility 4 was only held for her sake. At least since the day she had been brought there. She was none of his works of art, as he called his subjects, but obviously of more interest than anything he had ever accomplished. Has it not been he who had created "Olaf the Ogre"? "Vectra the Immortal", the "Twinblades" Vanessa and Neerie and, _I'll be damned_ , he thought, _was it not my brilliant mind that has brought forth the monster in figure of a woman, "Mindeater Risa", the undeniable number one, who was alone able to fend off the Ogre_? But everyone only had an interest in the bastard of the Lanzelot family. Every day he was praying for her to have died a miserable death somewhere, torn to pieces so insignificant he could say that there was nothing he could learn from what was left, so that he, for the love of the gods, would not have to deal with her remainders. Test Facility 4 was his turf. And the sooner the illegitimate grandchild of Richard von Lanzelot vanished, the better. That was what he thought.

"You are looking so grim, Kruos" a far too familiar voice tore him out of his hateful thoughts. He grunted, stopped in his tracks and took a look around. "What do you want, Lorenz?"

Out of the shadows of a side corridor the handler appeared and bowed to his superior. Due to his higher position Kruos did not respond by bowing and just nodded slightly.

"Something very interesting happened" Lorenz said grandiloquently.

Enervated already Kruos asked: "What is it?"

"Ariane has been killed."

"Huh? Did we already have a request to kill her again?"

"No. I do not know the exact circumstances, but it is safe to assume she ran into her slayer by chance."

"Pitiable. I liked her. But sooner or later she was bound to run into the center – and there it was only a matter of time until she…"

Lorenz interrupted him: "It was in Tarun, region seventy four."

Kruos was thunderstruck for a moment. "Just who… should have done it, then? Anna, possibly, but I doubt she'd be actually capable to. Who happened to be there?"

A wide smile appeared on Lorenz' face. "Your personal favorite" he said with blatant sarcasm.

"Her?" he snapped at him. Grounding his teeth he turned away. "That bitch!" he hissed. Just then he had hoped for her to drop dead and now that bastard was telling him she had killed one of his favorites? There were no words for him to express how much he hated her.

"Something even more interesting has happened in that regard. Since she has left that place Tarun is swarming with Awakened Ones."

Kruos' mind stumbled for a moment. He then faced Lorenz again and asked: "Who has knowledge of this?"

"So far I have only told you about it."

The Chief of Research gave that some thought. Resolutely he then said: "It will stay that way. I will have a look at it before you send Ayame to clean up there."

Lorenz bowed again. "As you wish" he whispered and disappeared into a side corridor.

Kruos then decided that the Chief of Operations could wait for his report. He went back to his own section. There were people to assemble and an outdoor mission to prepare.

###

Atop the hill from which Lorenz and Anna before had witnessed Karin's fight with "Crimson Ariane" Kruos was waiting, together with a dozen of his men, for his personally chosen lifeguard to return from her scouting mission. With hidden interest he regarded the ruins of Tarun in the meantime. On a huge plaza in the center of the city there was a distinctively large, black area to be seen. For a while he thought about where that obviously blackened by fire area had come from and for a moment wondered if it had been Karin's doing, discarded the thought, though, since hybrids could not summon fire.

At least not that he knew.

Seemingly out of thin air a small, blonde girl with green eyes clad in a plain, grey uniform appeared next to him. She bore neither a personal symbol nor armor, but a claymore longer than she was tall in her left hand. As soon as she appeared she stumbled, fell and landed right on her face. Kruos sighed. She got up and knocked off the dirt.

Just as she was about to turn towards Kruos a rap hit her head.

"Ouch!" she protested loudly, rubbing the spot she had been hit at. "Why?" she complained.

"You've got the fine motor skills of a sledgehammer!" Kruos scolded her making her huffily turn her gaze towards the ground. "What if you blunder like this in a fight or when scouting?"

"Well, actually…" she hemmed and hawed.

"Let me guess," Kruos grumbled with one of his eyes twitching, "it did just happen?"

"Yes."

"And the Awakened Beings noticed."

"Yes."

"And seeing you alive suggests you killed them all, am I right?" he grunted, clenching his fist in order to give her another rap to the head.

"Hold it right there!" she shouted pointing at him. "Actually, I did not!" She took a deep breath and Kruos sighed, because he could tell what was going to happen next.

Exuberantly, having uninterpretable facial expressions and gestures, holding a pantomimic, identifiable as anything but what she was actually saying play, she babbled: "First I rushed down there and stealthily took a look around and tried to imagine how that town must have been beautiful before its destruction but that doesn't matter, so I rushed over to the marketplace and there were like fifteen Awakened Beings and I was kind of scared so I tried to hide and while doing so I slipped on some slimy stuff and thought I'd kick the bucket then but they were just standing and traipsing around there like I wasn't there and looked like some retards and looked around and I got curious and thought I'd go there and say hi and they just gave me a short look and then continued standing and traipsing around like the retards they looked like and I though screw it and…"

"They ignored you?" he cut off her flow of speech, creating considerable amounts of relief for the other men who were forced to listen to her.

"Yup" the girl answered astoundingly taut.

Kruos thought for a moment.

"Well then," he said, "pack up, we're going down there!"

Grumbling the men began to pack up their equipment.

Kruos squat down next to the girl and handed her a candy wrapped in colorful paper. Sullenly she took it. "Is it already time?" she complained.

"I sincerely apologize" the Chief of Research assured her, "but you wouldn't want something to happen again, would you, Lilly?"

For a split second images of dissected bodies and crimson walls shot through the girls head. Hastily she unwrapped the bitter candy and swallowed it. She shook. She then began to follow Kruos, who had already set off. "I want some chocolate when we get back!" she demanded.

"Sure, sure" Kruos reassured her. "As long as you are good."

###

Jonas and Carsten were wandering along a barely used route that ran between a forest and a corn field towards Arnea, the first town in region 30 when coming from the outer ring. Carsten was highly irritated. He had wanted to eat in Tarun, but the town had been completely destroyed and there had been not a single human left alive. In the center of the town there had been many human looking corpses lying around. Some of them had already begun to decay and those who looked like they had just died didn't fit his tastes at all. He had then concluded that those had to be the corpses of Awakened Beings who had not transformed before death and had then thoroughly explained that to his companion Jonas.

The latter was enervated and disgusted by Carsten – and for a Yoma to be disgusted that held deep meaning. Both of them had been taken care of by Karin, the warrior who desperately tried to see the ability to live without preying on humans in Yoma. He himself tried everything to live like Karin wanted him to which put immense strains on his body and mind: on the one hand he felt physically weak ever since he had stopped eating humans and on the other hand his memories of his human past were constantly fighting the growing urge to eat.

Though she was a warrior meant to kill him he liked her, despite her usually apathetic nature, several times more than any of the Yoma he had ever met. After all she had not killed him even though his human side had demanded of her to do it. He felt of it as his responsibility to support her by any means possible – but he knew that it was only a matter of time until the Yoma he was would totally take over. Carsten instead was a hypocrite. He ate whenever he could. He did not care for Karin's efforts at all. To him she was just an idiot whose naivety he could prey on good and proper.

For that reason Jonas despised him from the bottom of his once human heart. Not, that he disagreed with him: Karin was too indulgent and too forgiving. She was no true warrior and one day she would pay a huge price for being the way she was. But people like Carsten, who wouldn't stop to babble like the useless shit he was, would majorly contribute to that, of that Jonas was certain.

Interrupting Carsten, who infatuatedly driveled of eating a huge fill in Arnea, Jonas said: "Won't you shut up already, bastard?"

The latter just laughed out loudly and grinned back at Jonas. "You wanna hold a lecture for shitty me again? Be honest for once, your mouth is watering, too! Your urge to fill your belly with sweet, warm intestines is no different from mine!"

"Unlike you I can restrain myself!" Jonas grumbled.

"Sure, sure," Carsten said conciliatorily, "but honestly: that is against our nature, what you are trying to do! We've been preying on humans since ancient times and not even a Yoma with a will as strong as yours could possibly do something about it."

"I am a Yoma just like you, you don't need to give me the crap meant for humans and warriors, you are aware of that?" he reminded Carsten.

"Sorry, buddy, but the judging from way you act one could think you were a human posing as a Yoma in order for you not to be eaten by me."

Carsten had to leap back to avoid an attack of Jonas' expending claws. "Could've been the case" he said, warily raising his hands in defense.

"Idiot" Jonas hissed and continued to walk. Carsten consorted with him again and continued to talk and talk.

From the shadows of the woods a pair of silver eyes was to be seen for but a moment. "A Yoma that doesn't want to eat, huh? Surely it is that woman's doing. Better tell Lorenz about it" the woman those eyes belonged to whispered to herself.

###

Anna nervously paced up and down as her view continued to occasionally wander through the small window in the dark room. Seeing how it had gotten brighter and brighter outside she could tell that the sun had already reached its zenith. It already was noon. Noon of the day after the last member of her Awakened Being hunting party should have arrived. Usually she did not mind waiting for she had been used to it for a long time, but in that case she did, because the Awakened Being responsible for her and her comrades assembling devoured more people than any other Awakened Being she had ever encountered. To the citizens Awakened Beings were known as overeaters, Yoma who had lived for a very long time. So to say this Awakened One was an overeater amongst overeaters. Matters were complicated further by the fact that to one of her comrades it obviously was an insuperable obstacle to just shut up. That fact had earned her the backhanded honor of being called "Tattletale Lisa". It was not only how much she talked, but for reasons unknown to Anna she always knew what was going on in the world of the warriors. And deep within her was raging, or so it seemed, the unquenchable urge to inform everyone she met about everything, even the most insignificant details. Everyone. Individually. Even when she was travelling in a group.

So, after Lisa had kept Anna awake all night and Anna was about to give a prayer of thanks to every god she was able to think of when Lisa had finally stopped talking, the latter proceeded to tell it all over again to Lea, who had just awoken. And, that was what Anna felt, the whole thing word by word. The most astounding thing about it was how Lea actually seemed interested in it.

Having remembered that torture Anna shook her head and sighed in defeat. Excusing herself she stepped outside in order to look for the still missing warrior.

Though she was tense and nervous because of the warrior that was awfully late – after all anything could have happened – she was also looking forward to the upcoming hunt. Lisa was number 31, Lea number 24 and she herself number 21. With that, three warriors of the inner ring had already assembled, who, on top of that, all had titles given to them by their comrades. And even though Lisa's didn't exactly hint towards her combat expertise, the fact she had it did. Her unique ability was to tell an enemy's strengths and weaknesses with but a single glance. Then there was "Lea the Turbulent". Though other warriors usually spoke ill of her by saying how simpleminded she was she also often earned nothing but praise for being an anticipatory fighter that, just like a turbulent storm, took away her opponent's orientation in order to swiftly overpower them. Last but not least there was herself, the undisputedly strongest warrior of the inner circle, "Skydancer Anna". Indeed that party was top-class. Anna expected the fourth member to also be someone possessing special skills.

Especially interesting to her was the question who they could be up against. Considering their lineup it was almost impossible for their target not to be from the lower two-digit ranks. Just as she was about to think who it could be she could sense the weak Yoki of two Yoma that seemingly had just entered the town. Instantly she began to rush towards their location. They might not have been part of her mission, but there was only one possible reason for them to come to a town at all: to eat.

She dashed through the alleys of the town, past startled passer-bys. Just when she was about to enter the street she had sensed the Yoma in, their Yoki suddenly vanished without a trace. She stopped dead in her tracks and concentrated, but she could not sense them anymore. Two man passed by her, one of them warily looking at her. For a while that felt eternal to him she stared into his eyes, but she could absolutely not feel any Yoki. She turned away and looked around for suspicious looking men, because she was absolutely certain that she had felt the Yoki of two Yoma.

"Watch now" one of the men that had passed her whispered to his companion, who hissed "Don't!" at him. The former then laboriously, as if invisible hands would hinder him, pointed his arm towards the warrior not paying attention to him at that moment. Then his fingers became claws that rapidly extended towards her. Anna didn't notice in time, but was not hit by a single claw, because all five of them merely hit the ground right in front of her feet.

"I knew it!" she hissed. Her eyes turned golden and a mighty gust of wind swept the Yoma off his feet. While he was toppling over Anna slid over the ground as if it was ice and crudely chopped off the Yoma's head.

Jonas twigged fast. He intently stumbled backwards and screamed: "A Yoma! He was a Yoma!"

Anna bought his play and shouted: "I know that there is one more of you! Show yourself!"

Nothing happened. The townspeople began to murmur.

She sheathed her claymore again. "Damn it", she hissed, "where's the other one?"

"Which other one?" a very tall warrior that had just entered the scene asked her.

The moment her gaze fell upon her fellow warrior her eyes widened. Instantly she remembered the numbing Yoki she had felt in Tarun as well as the manipulative abilities of that warrior. And also the fact that she liked Yoma way too much. "That explains a lot" she grumbled.

Karin played the confused one. "What explains what? And what are you babbling about another Yoma? I sensed this one and rushed over, just to see you beat me to the punch."

"Is that so?" Anna doubtfully asked, one of her eyebrows risen in suspicion. Becoming aware of where they were again she decided to continue that conversation somewhere else. And she knew something was fishy. Later she would have that manipulative Yomalover properly explain what had been going on. For the time being, however, she would have to give up on finding the other Yoma, because, if things were as she thought, she would not find him for Karin didn't want her to. No matter how much effort she'd put in her search. "Well, if you say so" she sarcastically said. "Come now, we've been waiting for you."

Both of them set off for the room they were supposed to meet in. On their way there Anna still tried to find the second Yoma again – to no avail.

###

After Anna and Karin had left Jonas left the town of Arnea as the crow flies. Though he didn't know what had been going on exactly, he assumed that Karin had somehow helped him to be undetected by the other warrior. _So you saved my ass again_ , he thought, intending to thank her later. Apparently Carsten's death only occurred due to him being the cocky idiot he had always been.

 _Serves him right_ , Jonas thought.

Still he was worrying about Karin. The other warrior had doubtlessly sensed Carsten and him. But he was sure she wouldn't get in any big trouble. It was Karin, after all.

###

The door leading to the small, dark room where Lisa and Lea were still waiting opened and in came Anna, followed by Karin. The latter placed herself right next to the door, leaning against the wall, where no sunlight entering through the small window was shining into her face. Lea eyeballed the new member for a moment, realized she didn't know her and then shifted her attention back to Lisa, hoping she would tell her more. Lisa, however, struck by curiosity, arose, went over to Karin and brought, tip-toed, her face really close to Karin's.

"Strange," she wondered aloud, "no Yoki. I mean… not the slightest bit. Interesting!"

"You know something about her?" Lea asked moderately interested.

"I don't see a thing" Anna explained, "because she doesn't release any Yoki. At all. Too bad" she sulked.

Anna clapped her hands two times in order to catch her comrades' attention. "That's enough for now. You will have plenty of time to get to know each other on our way to the target. For now I want everyone to introduce themselves. I am Anna. As the warrior of the highest rank, number twenty one, I will be this party's Captain. I have so far faced sixteen Awakened Ones, twelve times as the party's leader."

Then Lea took her turn: "Me is Lea and I am number twenty four. I've hunted and slain eight Awakened Beings, each time under Captain Anna's command. Looking forward to working with you gals!"

Lisa stepped a tiny bit away from Karin but continued to look at her. "I am Lisa and, for this mission, came from the north-east. Region thirty one is my home and I have been in fourteen Awakened Being hunting parties before, two times facing Class Two Awakened Ones."

Lea gaped in amazement: "Honestly?"

Lisa smiled at her and nodded. Not visibly reacting Anna still thought of that information as highly interesting. After all the possibility was high that her party would go after a Class Two Awakened Being.

"Class Two Awakened Being?" Karin asked.

Lea seemed bewildered. "What, you don't know about that?" She leapt to her feet and began to explain: "Awakened Ones are divided in four categories, or classes, depending on how powerful they should be. So, warriors from the outer ring as well from the outer regions of the inner ring, who awaken, are considered Class Three. And people from the inner regions of the inner ring become Class Two. Center warriors become Class One. And you see, the people in the top three to five ranks, when awakening, usually become so powerful that they got an extra category, Class Zero. Got it?"

"I see" Karin answered. "What about Olaf the Ogre?" she went into it.

Constricting silence.

Breaching it, Anna said: "He is a special case, no matter from what point of view. He used to be the number one of the male generation and hence his power is beyond categorizable. However, he has been hiding far in the west for years now, because he could not defeat our current number one. And now, it is your turn" she ended her explanation.

"I understand. Well, my name is Karin and I have been promoted to region thirty just recently. I have never been in an Awakened Being hunting party and have, so far, only encountered one Awakened Being. However, I can not say in which class it was."

"Strange" Lea pointed out, Lisa smirked.

"What is it?" Karin asked.

"Well, you see, as you have heard we're all pretty experienced. I mean, Lisa has dealt with Class Two already. You don't really fit in, y'know?" Lea explained.

For a moment Anna thought to have seen a twitch in Karin's face and intervened: "What Lea intends to say, is, that usually warriors of similar strength and experience come together, being led by another warrior of even greater power. Depending on the class of the Awakened Being groups are assembled differently. Our group is an exception to begin with: I, the leader of this group, might be stronger than Lisa, but she is more experienced. And even though I am more experienced than Lea I am not confident to be able to defeat her one on one" – Lea chuckled flattered – "and since each of us seemingly is superior to you in both experience and power, you somewhat stick out. You are new to the inner ring and officially never had an encounter with an Awakened Being. You don't fit in. Well, if circumstances were different and it wasn't exactly you we are talking about, that's what I would say" she said.

"That will be interesting Lea, listen well!" Lisa whispered to the smaller warrior's ear, to whom she had went over somewhen in between Anna's talking.

Anna's gaze wandered to Karin and she sternly looked at her. "I do not know the details, but I witnessed how our supposed newbie killed Crimson Ariane – on her own."

Lea's jaw dropped to the floor. Lisa nodded complacently. She had been proven right: that woman was indeed interesting.

"I assume" Karin said baldly, "she was no nobody?"

Anna nodded. "A Class Two Awakened Being. My direct successor."

"I am… sorry?" Karin guessed.

"For her?" Lea get het up. "You don't need to! That bitch cared for no one and nobody! The only thing she was interested in was torturing whoever she got to kill! And you know… she killed whoever she possibly could without getting found out." Lea then directly and earnestly gazed at Karin: "Have you ever… felt so deeply sorry for your enemy that it made you suffer yourself? I did when I was in a group with her. And one day, when she was caught killing a human she was to be executed. And the ones sent after her… all of them…" Lea became silent upon feeling Lisa's comforting hand pat her head.

After a torturous amount of silence Anna took the floor again: "I'm going to wait at the northern entrance of Arnea. Get done with whatever you need to and provide yourselves with whatever you need, but I want to set off in an hour at the latest. We've wasted enough time waiting." The last sentence she said with an accusing glance at Karin who did not seem to be conscious of having done anything wrong. She then left the room, followed by Karin.

After stepping outside, Anna harshly said: "You are coming with me."

The both of them walked through the town in silence and left Arnea through the northern gate. Some hundred meters outside of the side, apart from the road, they stopped. Anna turned around to face Karin and sternly asked: "When I was looking for you earlier I felt the Yoki of two Yoma. When I was about to reach them both of them vanished. Why?"

"I don't know" Karin lied.

"One of the Yoma blew his cover when attacking me and paid the price for his stupidity with his life. The other one stayed hidden."

Karin kept quiet.

"You said that you had only sensed one Yoma. Your senses may be sharp, probably sharper than mine. But I can tell you one thing: it has happened that I missed a Yoki, but I have never before sensed a Yoki that wasn't there. There were two Yoma and you know that very well. I do know you well enough to know that only you could be responsible for what has happened. I do not care what you did before this mission and I do not care what you will do afterwards. But as long as we are supposed to work together I need to be able to trust you. That is why I want you, without giving reasons, to answer me honestly now: did you hide those Yoma from me?"

Karin remained silent while Anna was waiting for an answer. And Karin would answer, of that Anna was certain. They were an Awakened Being hunting party – their lives depended on them working together. That was why Anna would make it dependant on Karin telling the truth or not whether she would take her along or leave her behind in Arnea.

"Yes," Karin eventually said, "I hid those Yoma's Yoki from you."

Anna sighed. "I see."

"Yo!" Lea called from afar, waving both her hands.

Noticing their comrades coming closer Anna took the last chance to remind Karin: "I don't care what drives you to do what you do, but the regions twenty one to thirty are under my command. If you care for your life you are going to play by my rules. Unfathomable that I have to say this, but Yoma are our enemies. As long as you are here, treat them that way!"

She turned away and said: "Come!" She then proceeded to walk towards Lea and Lisa.

* * *

Next time we will encounter a very interesting person as well as a powerful Awakened Being. Stay tuned!


	3. Former Number 11

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Claymore. I own the OCs and the story I wrote.

Chapter 3 incoming. An outstanding person appears, but are they friend or foe? Also: Anna's hunting party encounters their target!

Enjoy!

* * *

 **003 – Former Number 11**

Anna's party marched through the forest astoundingly silently, far from anything that even remotely resembled a trail. Indeed, Lisa regularly complained about sticks and stones she stepped onto and the fact that things were utterly boring, but that didn't lighten the mood, either. Karin kept silent because there was nothing she had to say. Also, she had been ordered by Anna to detect their target and focused on that. She was walking in the front. Anna kept silent for she had to have an eye on Karin at all times. She assumed that Karin was well aware of the dangerousness of their job and hence wouldn't do anything funny, but she wanted to be better safe than sorry. She shook her head. No, at that time there was no place for thoughts like that. She had decided to trust that girl during their mission and she would do just that. After all, Karin had not hesitated to kill Ariane at all. Also, having her manipulative skills would surely prove useful when facing an Awakened Being, because if there was one thing overflowing with Yoki, it were Awakened Beings.

Lea kept silent, too. She had intended to ask Karin about the things Ariane had said and done and if she had suffered while dying, just like her victims had, but in the end she did not have the confidence to speak to her. _Might be imagining it_ , she thought, _but ever since we set off there has been some kind of strange tension between Karin and Captain Anna_. She wondered what was going on but didn't want to ask that, either. She knew Anna well enough to know that she'd speak up if something of relevance was the matter. Asking her useless questions would but bother her. So she remained quiet.

Lisa was disappointed. Karin had politely but firmly told her that she was not interested in her stories, whereupon Lisa was forced to carve out a mostly silent existence. In addition to that Karin still did not emit any trace of Yoki wherefore Lisa couldn't see anything in it. Anna also was ruled out as a source of information. She had suppressed her Yoki to the point where Lisa couldn't see anything in it, either. The obvious dispute the both of them had had had caught her interest, but neither of them would tell her about it.

If the Awakened Being wouldn't kill her she would die of a lack of information.

Sole ray of hope to her was that Lea seemed to be bothered by something. So she asked her: "Is everything okay, Lea?" Awkwardly smiling she managed to utter: "Yes." Lisa knew that she was lying and pressed on: "You seemed really sad upon hearing of Ariane's death…"

"That isn't true!" Lea interrupted her fierily. "It's better now that she's dead!"

 _Way too simple_ , Lisa thought smirking. "One might say about her whatever one pleases, but she was indeed a strong warrior."

"So what?" Lea snapped at her, earning her concerned looks from Anna. A little quieter she continued: "She should have just accept the sentence for her crimes and died, but she didn't! She just killed the ones sent to execute her! For that she deserved any fate, no matter how miserable."

"So, you knew one of them?" Lisa asked and could tell from Lea's reaction that she was spot on.

Without hesitation Lea answered: "That matters little concerning her case. She's been a monster even when she was still human. And she most likely awakened out of her own will as a subsequent justification of her crimes. I won't budge. She's dead and that's good."

Karin had attentively listened the whole time. The words "a monster when she was still human" kept on resounding in her mind. Did something like that exist? Humans that had cast off anything human – or had never possessed human traits in the first place? She thought that all somewhat intelligent beings, in other words humans and Yoma, possessed the fundamental ability of sense. And that ability, so she believed, was lost when one awakened. Should it be true, just as Lea said, that there were humans lacking the ability of sense, so she wondered further, maybe there were Awakened Beings that still had it. Maybe awakening was no surety for the birth of a monster. Especially in Ariane's case, who supposedly had been a monster even before awakening, her character shouldn't have gone through much of a change in the process. _Had I been able to sense the humanity I faintly see in Yoma… in Ariane before she awakened_? she wondered.

Whatever the case, even Awakened Beings basically were intelligent. So, she concluded, there was no reason to deny them the ability of sense per se. While still looking out for their target with her inner eye she was musing whether or not Awakened Beings, just as she believed Yoma could, might be able to be cured from their murderous intent.

###

Yet again he checked strictly whether he had anything with him. There mustn't be anything missing when he went to see her. Knocks were to be heard at his door and before he could react Chief of Operations Wache entered his room. "We're only waiting for you. Hurry up, she is getting impatient."

"Of course," Lorenz said, "I know very well how she can be. Come!" he said and Ayame stepped out of the shadows, startling Wache. "Honestly, I will never get used to her, Lorenz. Just why did you pick her?"

"You see," Lorenz explained, "she is exceptionally reliable. And the ideal choice for covert operations."

Wache eyeballed her shortly. "Well, you have to get along with her."

"Mister Lorenz," Ayame whispered, "she is really getting impatient."

"Of course!" he said. "Let us be on our way, then."

Wache and Lorenz were walking through the hallways alongside each other. Ayame followed about three meters behind them. The both men were talking about irrelevant events of the past months, knowing that she would only be interested in those regarding the grandchild of von Lanzelot. And, as always, Wache told Lorenz, she wouldn't even be moderately impressed by what Karin had accomplished.

Ayame ignored the men's conversation. It wasn't of the least of interest to her. Instead she focused on the things she herself would have to tell her. She found it amusing how much then men in black believed that their observations were of any significance – and how well Lorenz was playing the role of one of those idiots.

As they were getting closer to their destination she, bit by bit, picked up the Yoki of the other warriors that were, just like herself, in on the secrets of the true meaning of the operation on Test Facility 4. First of all she detected the calamitous aura of "Mindeater Risa" from which a menacing boredom originated. "Cologne the Clairvoyant" and "Vectra the Immortal" were present as well, emitting auras that would have awed any warrior besides those who were present at the headquarters back then. But even their four mighty auras where completely insignificant. At the heart of the assembly there stood the initiator herself. And compared to her Yoki the four of them were just droplets of rain falling into the vast ocean.

###

Anna's Awakened Being Hunting Party had reached a plateau, upon which Karin had sensed the Yoki of an Awakened Being. Unlike in Tarun it wasn't scattered but concentrated in a single spot. It had appeared suddenly, just as if its owner had released in on purpose. Karin was convinced that the Awakened One had sensed Lea's Yoki a long time ago because it was strongly fluctuating according to her mood. A blitz was out of the question.

The Yoki's source was quickly found: a black-haired woman clad in genteel clothes was squatting amidst the plateau solitarily, apparently waiting for the warriors. She smiled sadly as her gaze fell upon them, unleashed all her Yoki and transformed.

Lea seemed to be surprised, Lisa kept a neutral expression but seemed to deeply think about something.

Anna asked Karin: "Am I sensing the same as you?"

"Supposably," Karin said. "At first I assumed a trick or a trap because I could not believe what I sensed… but it seems to be the real thing."

"I see," Anna answered. "Let's do this."

Like an arrow Lea shot through the Awakened Being's legs cutting both of them off in the process. The Awakened One, while struggling but being unable to move, fell to the ground. While still in mid air an unmotivated slash of Lisa's blade severed her head. Lea and Lisa then fell back to Karin and Anna, who hadn't moved a millimeter.

The Awakened One had ceased moving.

Lea was still puzzled. "That's it?"

Anna looked at Karin who had her eyes closed and seemed highly concentrated.

"Nothing," the tall warrior eventually said, "she's dead."

"I don't get it," Lea said. Directly facing Karin she asked: "That was our target? Mistaking impossible?"

"I don't sense anything else at all. So it probably actually was her," she concluded. Lisa was worried. She had seen something in that Yoki and even though she didn't see it clearly she knew that something was off. To Anna the situation simply didn't make sense. Why assemble a team like theirs for an opponent each of them could have easily defeated on their own? Something had to be fishy.

"There!" Karin exclaimed all of a sudden and ran off, closely followed by the other members of the party.

"What is it?" Lea asked.

"Awakened Being!" Karin answered tautly.

Anna frowned. She could sense the Awakened One as well – and she apparently was just as weak as the one before.

After the second Awakened Being had been felled Karin picked up the Yoki of another one already. After the warriors had taken care of that one, too, the next one popped up. That went on for a while until Karin pointed out the obvious: "Somebody wants us to follow this trail."

"Yes," Anna confirmed. "But who and why?"

Musingly Lisa regarded the dissected corpse of an Awakened Being next to her. Upon sensing the Yoki of each of them she had been able to see more and more different pictures. And bit by bit they were starting to make sense to her. So she told the others what she believed to know: "For a while now low ranked warriors from the Outer Ring have disappeared. Since their corpses couldn't be found it was assumed that all of them have awakened. And I think that we have found the missing warriors."

Lea gulped nervously. Then Anna asked Lisa: "If that is true, why are all of them gathered here? Did someone assemble them and if so, who?"

For a moment Lisa gave that some thought before speaking up: "First, let me tell you this: Whenever I sense a Yoki I see pictorial parts of the life of the person it belongs to. That's why I am always so well informed about everything. And all these Awakened Beings had similar memories. They met a certain man and then had a sweeping change of their emotional state. It might sound strange, but it appears to be some sort of bitter yet sweet pain. And that eventually led to their awakening."

"I don't get it," Lea admitted having a severely puzzled look in her face.

"An interpretation could be," Anna mused aloud, "that all of them for some reason fell in love with that man. And since they weren't loved back the pain that caused made them awaken."

"Probably," Lisa confirmed.

"But who would that man be?" Lea, who gradually got a grip of the situation, asked.

"Dear gods, no!" Anna said in shock, puzzling Lea yet again. The former dropped to her knees and stemmed her hand into the ground. Trembling visibly she whispered in sore shock: "By all means, not him!"

"I see, you understand now," Lisa stated gravely.

Lea had lost track of things completely and so she turned around to Karin seeking help. However, Karin was staring at the horizon with a dark shadow of alarm painted on her face. Suddenly Lea felt utterly helpless. Anna had crumpled, Lisa was unusually stern and Karin's face was far from being expressionless. Something terrible was going on, that much she could tell.

"You can see it, right, Karin? That colossal Yoki nearing from the horizon!" Anna whispered.

Karin felt deeply uneasy. "Who is that?" she asked.

"Just like Olaf he is a relic from the times when warriors were still male," Lisa explained with a wavering voice. "He was known for making every woman fall for him. And as it seems that hasn't changed."

With Lea's help Anna managed to pick herself up. She thanked her, gulped anxiously and then continued her explanation: "I was one of the few who knew him in his times as a warrior. After all of his male comrades had awakened he had been the number one for a few months until the more talented female warriors had overtaken him. When he finally awakened, too, he was the number eleven of the Organization: Heartbreaker Harun."

"Heartbreaker?" Karin asked suspiciously.

"Do not underestimate him!" warned Lisa. "He possesses an ability that allows him to change everyone's heart: Emotional Control."

"That is bad," Karin stated, "if he can do something like that."

"So that is the emotional change those poor girls had," Lea concluded.

"Indeed," Lisa confirmed. "And since our emotions are deeply connected with our Yoki it is more than probable that he forced all those girls into awakening. And basically… he would be able to do that to us, too."

Anna hissed: "So, what are we supposed to do about him, then?" A moment later three pairs over silver eyes were directed towards Karin. She sighed. _So they count on me to keep them from awakening. Great_.

###

In a large hall there stood a long, black table with chairs placed to both sides as well as an outstandingly valuable seeming one on one of the short sides of it. Soon that room would be filled with men dressed in black as well as a handful of warriors who would then report about the events on Test Facility 4. She closed the door that led to the small sideroom where she waited for all more or less important people to gather in order to have them report many more or less meaningful events that would more or less be of interest to her. _Rather less_ , she thought, because first of all Chief of Operations Wache and Chief of Research Kruos would inform her about events and discoveries, whereby the former would be of no interest to her and the latter wouldn't actually be discoveries. Not to her, at least. However, uncomfortable questions would be asked if those people came to know how she already knew about all those so called achievements. The humans thought of her as a human and for the time being it was necessary to keep it that way. If her true identity that could only be seen with the right eyes were to be discovered she wouldn't be able to fulfill her task anymore. Indeed, she had her confidants without which she simply couldn't manage to fulfill her task. But she would annihilate either of them without hesitation if she deemed it necessary. For the moment, however, she was Lady Stella Astarte, the official head of the Organization that was committed to fighting and exterminating the Ashkaram. And, as always, she would play that role without fail.

The representatives of the Organization entered the hall, amongst them Chief of Operations Wache, Chief of Research Kruos, the responsibles of the five big areas as well as five warriors, of which Lady Astarte trusted four enough to let them participate. The fifth one was a little girl that at almost all times stuck to Kruos like glue, a trainee, that was drugged at all times so she could neither release nor sense any Yoki. She had allowed her to be there beforehand because the girl wouldn't have left Kruos' side easily.

She would probably, given occasion and necessity, take her out at one point.

Sounds from the hall resounded and died down after a few minutes, hence she assumed that everyone was finally there and ready. So she stepped out of her sideroom.

Lillaine stood next to Kruos feeling awkward and held fast to his garb. There were many people present that she didn't know. She had been interested in the other warriors, but none of them had given her more than a glance wherefore she hadn't dared to say something to them. She disliked the whole situation and felt totally uneasy and just hoped it would be over soon.

The instant Lady Stella Astarte entered the hall little Lillaine's breath faltered. Her hair was so white that it seemed to glow and it floated through the air behind her while she was walking like something phantasmal. Her skin was so pale that one had to doubt that there was blood flowing beneath it and it was purer than the heart of a newborn. Upon meeting Lady Astarte's gaze Lillaine could see all imaginable colors in her eyes – and yet none at all. Never before she had met a being of such perfected flawlessness. She was awestruck to the point that she had to avert her gaze. As Lady Astarte greeted the attendees Lillaine could hear the voices of all humans she had ever met as well as the voices of those she would never meet. She was moved so deeply that a single tear rolled down her face.

If she had ever met a god it was that woman.

She was smitten by her so much that she did not notice time passing around her anymore.

###

Leisurely like a hiker lost in his surroundings Harun treaded over the dusty plateau. His gaze was stiffly directed forwards because only there, in his line of gaze, was something of interest. Though his outer eyes could not see something then his inner eye perceived three lights at the horizon. They didn't shine brighter than the darker stars in the night sky above him. One of the lights was so dark that he had to make an effort to see it at all. _Pretty they are_ , he thought to himself as he was steadily nearing them, pretty fast at that, because, even though he walked leisurely, his speed equaled that of a galloping racehorse. It was due to his Herculean build that made him appear as tranquil as he was on the inside. Pale, dark skin covered his slinky body that was merging into the surroundings like a shadow merges into the night. At the sides of his upper arms and thighs there were multiple horny outgrowths of the size of adult humans that were hard and sharp enough to cut through steel and stone like a knife through hot butter. Atop his long, bent forwards neck there sat enthroned the skull of a creature from the depths of the abyss. The fangs of his constantly opened jaws had grown into all directions and were about one and a half meters long each and his small eyes sat deep in his orbital cavities from where they were twinkling in a menacing golden color. Behind his body that overtowered even the largest cathedral known to man he was dragging a many meters long squall of white hair that reached from his skull and back all the way down. A boney, prominent shell covered his chest and loins giving him the overall impression of being a warrior of a feral tribe – if it wasn't for his sheer size. Regarding the sight he gave it was impossible to believe that, in his human form, he was easily able to rob every woman of her senses just with his appearance alone.

He was observing the three lights closely. Even though they seemed small and weak he could tell that they were hiding something behind their facades. He knew that the Organization would eventually come after him to answer his deeds.

And yet it was an appallingly pathetic answer.

For months he had dragged warriors of the Outer Ring to his side by taking their senses with his swathing tongue, his looks and his charm in order to, by just messing with their emotions a little, force them into awakening. But all of them had been worthless. Weak and fragile. Not though enough to meet his aspirations. So he ended up using them to elicit a selection of stronger warriors from the Organization. But as it seemed that had barely worked: indeed, each of them was more powerful than one of the Awakened Beings from the Outer Ring, but they didn't seem to be able to meet his demands at all, even if they awakened. They weren't really promising, but since they had gone out of their way to meet him already, so he had decided, he might as well go and see what they were made of. And if it wouldn't work out he would just have to kill them and head for the Center.

###

Anna, Lisa and Lea stood tensely at the base of the hill to their left. It was only a matter of minutes until Harun would reach them. To their advantage, however, several hours would have to pass for sunrise to come. They have had to look for a while, but the place they had eventually found was perfect for the battle to come: there was a hill to where they could retreat and from where they could roll boulders and logs that they had prepared in advance down on Harun which of course would not harm him, but might buy them time in a crucial moment. Also, there were numerous trees, bushes and big boulders lying around some ten meters behind their position as well as some sinkholes they could use as cover for a short period of time since it was dark.

All assuming Karin would be able to properly do her part. Utilizing Lisa's ability to get knowledge about someone's past by reading their Yoki they had gotten lots of useful intelligence on how Harun's awakened body looked and what he was capable of. Together they had come up with a tactic with that they theoretically should have been able to defeat him. As long as neither of them awakened or died, that was. In every mission the participating warrior's lives were at stake, but this mission was of a different caliber: since Harun could control his opponent's emotions he also had a means of influencing their decisions. And to awaken at a certain point or not was one of the decisions he was able to meddle with.

That was the point Karin came into play. Hiding in the bushes she had suppressed her Yoki as much as she could to stay hidden from Harun. By her ability to control Yoki she basically had an influence on a warrior's awakening, too. Eventually it would come down to who was better at their special ability: Harun or her. And it would depend on Karin's willingness to do the necessary.

Anna slapped her cheeks with both hands a few times. She reminded herself: _I can't think like that right now! I have to trust her!_

"Are you all right, Captain?" Lea asked her worriedly.

Anna looked at her, smiled and nodded. "I am," she answered, sounding more convinced than she actually was. She then directed her view towards the horizon again. Even though she could not see him in the darkness then, her inner eye could tell that he was no more than a kilometer away from them.

"It's almost time. Stick to the plan!" Anna commanded tensely.

Harun's body became, illuminated by the moon, visible. Instantly Lea dashed off just as if she intended to beat sound in a race. Two kicks executed almost simultaneously hit the inner ankles of the giant and actually shoved his legs apart a little, not making his stance less steady, however. Soil was being blown up behind him tempting him to take a look. Before he could do that, however, Lea's claymore was painfully stabbed in his right knee pit. He slumped slightly and shifted his weight onto his left leg just to have his right foot impaled between two bones by Lisa's blade. Instinctively he pulled his foot away and Lisa retreated for the moment, because Lea was already attacking the left knee pit of the giant who was standing only on one leg then. As a result he lost his balance and began to tilt backwards. While falling as if he was in slow motion, Anna leapt onto the upper part of his now bent left leg and proceeded to climb the steadily tilting body. With the aid of gusts of wind she created with her Yoki she easily carried herself over the overhangs formed by Harun's armor-like shell and had reached his neck in a matter of seconds. It had at least two times the diameter of a claymore's length. She only managed to inflict a shallow wound for she noticed thousands of hair strands being directed towards her. Releasing enough Yoki to distort her face she created a gale-force wind to escape the incoming attack, just in time, as all the strands were suddenly shooting towards the spot she had just been in.

While she was flying away backwards she doubtfully witnessed tens of thousands of hair strands cushioning Harun's fall and then helping him to sweepingly get back up. While doing so he got into a crouch, bringing his face close to the still flying Anna in a matter of moments.

"Damnit!" she wanted to say as his tongue sprang out of his jaws hitting her chest like a sledgehammer of the size of a wrecking ball, sending her flying several ten meters away. Swift to react Lea dashed after her, leaped, caught her in mid air and then landed safely on her feet, digging them into the ground and leaving several meters long marks. She then let Anna, who was coughing up some blood, down and asked: "Can you go on?"

"Have to," Anna gasped, struggling for breath.

Harun, who was still squat down and had his hands folded, just as if he was about to shake his head in disappointment and then explain to his children what they had done wrong, was actually about to mock his opponents as he could feel a Yoki beneath him flashing as brightly as lightning in the night sky. "Here you go!" Lisa shouted and then slashed her blade through the middle of his left foot, severing four of his five metatarsal bones. The sudden pain had Harun distracted so much that he did not react to the follow up attack that completely severed the front half of his left foot. Lisa then fell back to Anna and Lea in order to not be squashed by Harun who was dropping onto his left knee.

"Suppress your Yoki!" Anna coughed and Lea and Lisa followed her order. She herself stood at the level that turned her eyes golden in order to repair the damage Harun had done to her chest.

The giant had to support his weight with his hands in order not to completely topple over.

"We got him good!" Lea exclaimed cheerfully.

At first something resembling a grin appeared on his face. Then he laughed. Anna ground her teeth. "Tell that to him" she grunted.

Harun directed his hideous face towards the warriors and craned his neck in their direction so much that barely ten meters of distance were left between it and them. With his voice resembling the sound of rolling thunder he said: "Impressive! Truly impressive! That is by far more than I expected you to be capable of. You actually cut a piece off of me!"

The Captain of the hunting party then suppressed her Yoki, too. She would have to make do with what she had regenerated. Firmly grasping the handle of her claymore with both hands, she protectively held it in front of her. "Just now you've only been playing with us, am I not right?" she shouted.

"Don't trivialize it, my dear. You really are good. That shorty is astoundingly quick, the one with the plait on the left side of her head is really strong and you, my dear, float in the winds as if they were listening to your every command! And also, I just can't withstand all your cute little braids. You all pass… I am going to make you mine!" he said menacingly.

###

In deep concentration Karin was cowering in a bush roughly 200 meters away from her comrades and Harun. Phase one of the plan had been going well so far. Her comrades had taken Harun by surprise and survived the first clash with comparable damage on both sides. To assume that their enemy would want to gauge her comrades' abilities before going all out first, as Lisa had advised, had proven to be the right decision: he had held back, allowing Anna, Lisa and Lea to use their Yoki. Therefore Karin was able to see if she could read it in detail from that distance. In case she hadn't been able to do it she had have to get closer before phase two would begin. The next step was for her to confirm whether or not she could manipulate her comrades' Yoki from that distance.

That was the plan, at least. She would decide herself if she would try and manipulate Harun's Yoki as well. She was designated to solely concentrate on her comrades, but she thought that would have been a waste of her capabilities. She preferred not having to pick up her claymore herself, but in the worst case she would have to sit around without actually doing anything, which she could not have, either. It was not as if she underestimated the Emotional Control, but she would have to witness it first before she could decide if she was able to do something about it or not. And until then she felt it was the best course of action to support her team with everything she could.

###

The pointy outgrowths on Harun's upper arms expanded and abruptly began moving towards the three warriors. They managed to leap aside just to have to avoid the next incoming attack already. Those attacks kept repeating and became gradually faster, soon making it impossible for the warriors to dodge them in time without the usage of Yoki. Lea tried to get close to Harun, but his hair strands kept her from doing that. Like a downpour of needles they dictated where Lea was running to. Before she know she was completely surrounded by them and could already see herself ending as a pin cushion as the volley about to hit her split up above her and merely hit the ground around her. Quickly catching on she freed herself with a sweeping swipe and dashed away at a venture.

By pure chance she found herself beneath the giant's stretched out neck that was about 20 meters above her. She squat down, concentrated some Yoki in her legs, lunged out her claymore and jumped upwards.

At the inflection point of her jump she had intended to attack but, to her own surprise, hesitated and began to drop, blowing her chance.

"Why did I…" she was wondering, right before one of the outstretched horns hit her like a whip and smashed her into the ground so forcefully that a small crater was formed around her. While she was tediously picking herself up coughing, one of the horns impaled the ground just centimeters next to her. Being startled she unleashed half of her Yoki and rushed away.

Anna and Lisa were also busy dealing with Harun's tentacle-like horns. For a while Anna had to support her movements with her ability to create wind with Yoki already and Lisa was forcefully smashing away one incoming horn after the other and had noticed that she couldn't even scratch them in the process. Unlike she did with Lea, Karin was not supporting them by manipulating Harun, because she thought they were capable of being fine on their own. A side effect of her thinking was that the both of them had to release significantly more Yoki than Lea.

Harun had the girls dance below him like puppets on strings. Two of them he managed to shove closer and closer to their limits without manipulating them at all. For the third one he had already had to begin manipulating her for attacks directed towards her rarely went as intended by him. She should have been impaled and have awakened minutes ago. It would have been simple to have her awaken for her temper being as turbulent as her fighting style. But either she was able to deflect his attacks in some way while zigzagging around like a hare on the run or, what he thought was more likely, there actually was a fourth warrior hiding somewhere who manipulated him in some way and who he could not detect for her suppressing her Yoki splendidly. If he was right he would be quite interested in that woman and if she was there he would be sure to lure her out. And he already had an idea on how to do it. He then was shifting every ounce of unused concentration he had onto the shortest of the warriors he was fighting.

Again Harun utilized his countless strands of hair in order to get a hold of the short warrior, Lea. As if she had learned nothing from the first time he was yet again able to surround her, using hundreds of attacks to dictate her every movement, steadily taking away her options of dodging them. Lea was fully aware of how she was doing the exact same mistakes again. She could not tell why it was that way, but every movement that might have prevented her from getting into the same precarious situation as before felt so wrong to her that she just couldn't help it but fall for the trap again.

It happened what was bound to happen: soon she was fully surrounded by the strands and had no movement options anymore. The finishing attack from above split up again and merely hit what little ground was left around her. _I knew it_ , Harun thought, _but it is too late now, fourth warrior_. Lea then was caught between the countless strands and could have freed herself the same way she had done it before.

But she didn't. Suddenly her hearth was seized by fear and insecurity. Instinctively she cowered down and began to tremble heavily. The rationally thinking part of her asked itself why she acted that way while the emotional part of her had absolutely succumbed to Harun's dictate. She could see how the strands of hair came closer and closer to her. _I'm going to be squashed_ , she thought and began to panic.

Harun was nurturing the fear residing in Lea's heart further by sending huge amounts of Yoki into the hair surrounding her. Without her realizing it she had released enough Yoki for her body to slowly begin to deform. The fear of being crushed grew so big that she was about to lose her mind.

The Awakened One was highly satisfied. All she had needed was a little shove into the right direction for her fear and Yoki to goad each other. It was a matter of minutes until she would awaken. _So, fourth warrior, what are you going to do about this?_ he thought.

###

Karin was hissing curses at herself. He had gotten Lea. Whether it was on purpose or not, he had managed to position her in a way that made it impossible for Karin to interfere anymore without showing herself, because the masses of Yoki surrounding Lea made it barely possible for Karin to reach her with the sheer force of her mind. She chided herself. Had she stuck to the plan that situation hadn't become reality. Lea might have been heavily wounded, maybe even dead, true, but she wouldn't be at the verge of awakening at least. Things were though on Anna and Lisa, too, but the both of them still managed somehow. Lea, however, would awaken if Karin would begin to follow the plan again. Then Harun would go for Anna and Lisa and lastly herself, just, like he had done it with the girls of the Outer Ring.

Her body began to shake from anger. Anger about her own inabilities. Anger about the monster that had turned more than a dozen of her comrades into monsters. Anger about her having had to kill those poor girls.

Gravely she arose and drew her blade. She could still vaguely sense Lea. Between the two of them there was a distance of roughly 180 meters as well as a four to five meters thick bundle of Harun's hair surrounding Lea.

Phase two had failed. Now she had to improvise.

###

In the intervals of mere split seconds three blazingly bright flashes of Yoki flared over the battlefield. Both Anna and Lisa reacted to the signal by rushing away into different directions in a flash, momentarily nearing their limits and then, after being out of Harun's range of sight, suppressed their Yoki completely. The giant noticed the three flashes of Yoki, too, and had been taken by surprise again by how fast those girls had been able to dash away from him and how quickly those girls of the Inner Ring were able to suppress their Yoki again. And how perfectly they had done it. Perplexity struck him, as the Yoki of the girl who had just been about to awaken completely disappeared, too.

He growled.

So there really was a fourth warrior, just like he had assumed. And she had shown herself, just like he had expected her to. But why, he asked himself, was the Yoki of the short warrior gone? He tried to look for the other girls with his inner eyes and noticed that their Yoki, too, had been completely eradicated.

Just as he was about to understand what was going on his inner eye was confronted with a Yoki so dense that it astonished him. In a small area not far from him bushes, trees and shrubs were set aflame. His eyes began to glow and anticipation filled his rotten heart.

"Yes…" he said, "yes! That is what I have been looking for!"

Like a shooting star Karin shot towards the former number eleven, setting everything on her path aflame. As if they were nothing but paper she burned through the masses of Yoki-filled hair and, suppressing her Yoki instantly, stopped in her tracks about ten meters behind Harun. On her hands she was carrying Lea that luckily had only suffered light burns. The latter opened her grayish-blue eyes and gazed into the still golden eyes of Karin.

"Plan B?" she gasped.

"Plan B," Karin answered.

* * *

I hope you liked it.

Next time we will reach the conclusion of Anna's party's fight. Please, everyone, look forward to it.


	4. Farewell, comrade!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Claymore. I own the OCs and the story I wrote.

I really like this chapter and I hope you do, too.

Enjoy!

* * *

 **004 – Farewell, comrade!**

It took Lisa more effort than she had thought to climb the hill. Taking the suppressant while emitting almost half her Yoki had taken its toll on her body: the moment it had kicked in, several shockwaves had gone through it, damaging muscles, innards and blood vessels in the process. The damage was by far not fatal, not even severe, but without Yoki she wouldn't be able to regenerate it until the suppressant's effect would wear off. _A truly reckless strategy Karin came up with_ , she thought.

It was successful, however. Under cover of night she was able to ascend the hill without being noticed by Harun. The blinding flames at the hill's base helped her to merge with the shadows even more. She took a moment to look back and marveled in disbelief: "Flames. This is unheard of. For Yoki to be able to do something like that…" In the end she had not been mistaken. Karin was an interesting person indeed. Grieving about the fact that she could not see scenes of her past in Karin's Yoki then that it was finally unleashed she proceeded to climb the hill, hoping, that Anna had made it as well.

Upon reaching the hill's top she whispered her comrade's name: "Anna?" The latter only called attention to herself through strained breathing. Lisa went over to her and squat down next to her fellow warrior who was lying behind one of the boulders they had prepared in advance. "You alright?" she asked. Anna shook her head. Lisa then bent down to her comrade who was lying on her back in order to see what was wrong. As her eyes had become accustomed to the darkness she could see several bloodstains on her captain's uniform that were located along her stigma, a remnant of a human's transformation into a hybrid warrior, a wound that would never heal and was only kept close by a sturdy string made of plastic – a material unknown to the native people of Erema. Impulsively Lisa tore open Anna's uniform to take a look at the stigma. Blood had extravasated in several spots, but, fortunately so, the string had done its job in keeping the wound closed.

That was the risk of Karin's emergency strategy: if taking the suppressant while emitting as much Yoki as Anna had the shockwaves that created would do severe damage to the body. In addition to that Anna had taken a hit and had probably not had the time to regenerate the damage from it fully.

Lisa carefully helped Anna to sit up, serving as support for her. "Try to tell me how serious it is," she demanded.

"My whole body burns," Anna answered while coughing up droplets of blood. "It's even worse than when the shocks ran through my body. I might die from internal exsanguination. Fifty-fifty, at best, I'd say."

"And with the suppressant in your body you can't regenerate now of all times!" Anna said agitatedly.

"We've known that beforehand, did we not?" Anna tried to appease her comrade. "Only Karin could judge whether or not she could do something about Harun's Emotional Control – and obviously she couldn't. I think she made her decision because of the situation Lea was in. I'd rather bleed to death here than seeing her awaken."

"You're right," Lisa had to admit. "I hope Lea is alright."

From their position they had no means of witnessing the course of battle any further, neither with their outer nor their inner eyes. For Anna the battle was over. She imploringly hoped that Karin's decision was right and that she knew what she was doing. If not, Harun would just force her into awakening. And the moment that would happen their hope of returning alive would be gone.

While her senses were slowly fading she tried to focus on believing in Karin. She distrusted that Yoma-loving woman from the bottom of her hearth despite she had intended to do the opposite. She was inwardly pleading that reality would belie her gut instincts. And while her heart and mind were fighting the crackling sound of the flames at the hill's base were soothing her into unconsciousness. As Lisa noticed that she put Anna down again. "Don't die," she said with a worried gaze.

###

Carefully Karin seated Lea into the dust of the plateau, about 50 meters away from Harun. Apart from some slight burns she had gotten from Karin's Yoki she did not seem hurt at all. Apparently, so Karin thought, her body was sturdy enough to withstand taking the suppressant even when she was close to awakening. She bent down to her, whispered something into her ear, arose again and then turned around to face Harun, who had turned towards her, too, and was remarkably patiently waiting.

She walked towards him and then stopped just out of range of his attacks. Meticulously she suppressed her Yoki to the point where her eyes were silver again, but not as far as to take away the possibility of Harun controlling her emotions. She had thoroughly observed him and the fight and knew that he was in a wholly different league than Ariane had been. Physical strength, Yoki, mental strength and, despite his size speed – in neither aspect Ariane would have been even comparable to him. She had been able to defeat her in a fit of rage, but that would not work against the giant she was facing. Oh, she did want to flip it, badly, after what he had almost done to Lea and after what he had done to the girls from the Outer Ring. But given his power there was no way she could afford to do that. Instead she remained as calm as possible and had come up with a strategy – all that was left now was to put it into action and make it work.

"Splendid move," he sincerely praised Karin with his growling voice. "So you understood how my Emotional Control works and by utilizing the suppressants you have seen to it that I am now unable to control their Yoki and hence their emotions." He lowered his huge head until it was just centimeters above the ground. "But how is that protecting you?" he asked scornfully.

Not wasting any time he began to send his own Yoki to Karin, intending to change her own flow of Yoki in his favor. It felt so easy to him. _That fool didn't suppress her Yoki well enough_ , he jubilantly thought, _and hence she will fall for me!_

"That is interesting" Karin whispered to herself. She placed the palm of her left hand onto her chest and noticed that her heart suddenly was beating more strongly than before. In addition to that a strangely comfortable warmth began to fill her body. A faint but genuine smile appeared on her face. Directly, yet anxiously she looked at Harun and said: "What is this? It feels astoundingly nice. I'm feeling so… light."

The giant's labial angles invisibly twitched upwards. It was over. He had gotten her. "If you like that," he said as softly as his voice allowed it, "then come to me. The closer you get, the better you will feel!"

Seemingly falling for his words Karin began to walk towards him. She was excited and began to become ecstatic as she was nearing him. Apparently without her noticing it Harun positioned his horns and hair in order to impale Karin with them. He was convinced that it would be mere child's play to make her awaken once she was skewered in every imaginable spot of her body.

She had miscalculated. Or could it be part of her plan? _No, impossible_ , he thought confidently. Each plan, each strategy, each thought was born by a person's intellect, but he was manipulating her on a deeper layer of mind, a layer, where intellect and reason were powerless. Whatever she was thinking, however much her intellect might have been rebelling – she was caught in his Yoki like a fly in a spider's web.

He would thoroughly enjoy her company.

Moments later Karin was standing so close to Harun's face, she could have touched it. Ingenuously and enamored she was smiling at him, remembering how she had taken that part of her training for nonsense. Learning mimic, gestures and the way of speaking of all kinds of people, be they peasants, nobles or prostitutes, had appeared to her to be a complete waste of time. Apparently not, she realized.

"Harun," she tenderly said, "you are so strong!"

He felt slightly flattered by her words. _It works_ , he thought triumphantly.

"I have seen it instantly and told those stupid girls that we would not stand a chance, but they didn't want to listen to me! Forget about them! I am all you will ever need!" she convincingly tried to coax him.

Harun felt unusually smitten. Finally _a woman that is able to understand my greatness!_ he inwardly delighted.

"I am sure you are a big, handsome man!" she sweet-talked him. Spreading her arms she leaned against his face and then whined artfully: "I would love to hold you, but that won't do! Won't you show me how handsome you really are?"

 _She fell right into my trap_ , his inner voice cheered as he was taking his human form. After the transformation was complete she smiled the brightest of smiles and flung her arms around him; he was returning the hug.

For a while both of them remained silent. Harun was floating in an ocean of bliss – until he asked himself just what in the world he was doing.

"Furthermore," Karin whispered to his ear, "you are ugly."

In the blink of an eye she unleashed her Yoki until hardly below her limits. Its size and outstanding density made it so powerful that even Harun's huge Yoki could not keep it from entering his body.

He went up in flames.

###

Lea was climbing the hill as she could hear the noise of bursting flames behind her. She stopped and noticed how suddenly a strong wind was blowing down the hill. She turned around to find out what was going on on the battlefield. Startled she noticed that Harun was nowhere to be seen. Hastily her eyes were searching the surroundings. There was no way that giant could have just vanished into thin air! But she couldn't find him, no matter how hard she looked.

It was only then that she became aware of the fires Karin's Yoki had sparked. And she could see a blinding light from the spot Karin and Harun had been before. She concluded that the two of them were fighting there in some way. That reminded her how Karin had told her to get away as fast and far as possible, preferably to where Anna and Lisa should be. Regarding the blazing spectacle she understood why one would not want to be down there and apparently Karin had known that this would happen. Wherefrom, however, Lea couldn't tell. After all she had no idea that Karin's Yoki was able to set things aflame.

She decided to follow Karin's advice and go to where Lisa and Anna should be. Upon taking the suppressant a series of painful shockwaves had gone through her body. Obviously that had happened to Lisa and the wounded Anna, too. Worrying about her comrades she turned around and continued her way up.

###

Anna was groaning under intense pain as Karin's Yoki outburst reached her. Lisa was really worried but had no idea what to do for her comrade and hence could do nothing but helplessly kneel next to her. Even she felt a pressuring pain in her head. _Impossible_ , she thought, _but is this a side effect of being exposed to her Yoki? How? The suppressant should make it impossible for us to feel it at all!_

Just as she had finished that thought she could see the sight of a young man in her mind's eye. Moreover she could astoundingly detailedly feel a Yoma's Yoki originating from him. Both the sight and the Yoki vanished from her mind as suddenly as they had appeared. She mused aloud: "Where that… Karin's memories?"

Another thought crossed her mind and realization struck her: if that had actually been Karin's memories that meant she could still feel her Yoki and hence the suppressant wasn't perfect. _But for me to be able to still feel her Yoki_ , she cognized in shock, _just how powerful does it have to be?_

Lea arrived and tore her out of her musings. "Anna!" she exclaimed in worry and instantly kneeled down next to her. "What's wrong?" she asked dismayed.

"Just a theory," Lisa replied quickly, "but it appears that she can feel Karin's enormously dense Yoki – and in her state that must be truly painful. What I am saying, is, that the suppressant isn't perfect. What is going on down there?"

"No idea," Lea answered while holding Anna's hand and worriedly gazing at her. "Harun is gone and there are flames everywhere."

"I'm going to take a look," Lisa said and warily took a look from behind the boulder they were hiding behind. A blinding light met her eyes and she had to screw them up and hold her forearm in front of them so it could act as a kind of visor. Vaguely she could see two figures embracing each other. It took her a while, but as she recognized one of them as Karin she could barely believe it: she was embracing the body of a naked man, Harun, as she concluded. And, so it seemed, that embrace was menacing for him because he was literally turning to ash. Around the two of them even the air seemed to be burning and was flowing upwards in a manner resembling lava erupting from a volcano.

Hastily she turned around and returned to the other two warriors.

"So?" Lea, who had placed Anna's head on her lab and was caringly massaging her temples in order to fight the pain in her head, asked.

"I'm not really sure," Lisa admitted, "but it seems as if Karin is winning."

###

Suffering death agonies Harun struggled to break free from Karin's deathly embrace, to no avail, however. Violently her Yoki had taken possession of his body and taken away his ability to use his own Yoki. Consequently he was no longer able to shape shift into his awakened form and had to rely on the powers he had had as a warrior. But those were not nearly enough to free himself of his opponent's fierce grasp. The utterly destructive force of her Yoki was destroying his body more and more. He knew that it was only a matter of time until he would be gone permanently.

He refused to believe what had happened. For years all kinds of woman had fallen for him. Humans, warriors, even Awakened Beings. And those with Yoki who he had not been able to seduce with his charming personality alone he had drawn to his side with his Emotional Control. Even at that time everything had gone according to his plans. Or so he had thought. That woman had only pretended to be manipulable – and he had naively thought that he would never meet a person capable of defying his control.

And then that woman appeared out of nowhere. Not only had she been able to defy him, no, she had also been able to manipulate him. He had been played at his own game. He laughed bitterly at that while his body was consumed by that woman's Yoki. He looked at her and said: "We could have been big, you and me. Are you aware of that?"

Under great strain, because her body had already begun to distort, she answered with a guttural voice: "I apologize… but… I am not interested… in monsters."

He laughed again. "I could have accepted you the way you are. You are something special, girl."

"I am not… flattered. The opposite… is true. It is insulting to be… accepted… by an abomination… like you… who has robbed… my dear comrades… of their humanity," she explained bit by bit in order to not lose focus of her own Yoki.

That woman had beaten him, that he accepted. He dropped his struggle and his resistance completely and waited for the inevitable to come. When two Yoki clash it is similar to a battle between two armies: the one with the better combination of numbers and class wins. And that woman had won the battle.

Suddenly he was longing for death to come. It felt to him like that exact woman was destined to finally end his life. For a reason he couldn't understand he felt like the fire was cleansing him of his sins and that he would be able to leave that world without regrets. Before his mind's eye he could see the figure of Sha-Karin as he knew her from statues and illustrations he had seen: a tall, fragile looking woman clad in a black cloak, her hair and face hidden by a hood. On her back, between two black, feathered wings with a span of several meters, she wore a scythe with a blade of almost a meter's length. Even though he could not see her face he knew that she was looking at him. She had come to get him.

He closed his eyes. Utilizing the last bit of breath and life he had left he said: "I understand now, girl. I know who led you to me. It wasn't my deeds. It wasn't the request. It wasn't chance. She herself has led you here, to kill me. _Karin the Tranquil_ … has come… to end my existence…"

As he realized that had just used the name of the one who was killing him he was wondering just how he knew it. And then, not being able to cope with the pressure of Karin's Yoki anymore, his body burst asunder in a big explosion. Not having anything else to burn anymore, her Yoki began to melt the ground beneath her feet. What was left of her uniform turned to ashes instantly and the metallic parts of her uniform began to melt away. The molten metal began to burn itself into Karin's skin and flesh. Screaming out in agony she emitted a pulse of Yoki that, for but a moment, had her breach her limits, and that instantly evaporated what was left of her armor, only leaving her claymore behind. Mustering all of her will's power she forced her Yoki back into her body and tried to suppress it there. She dropped to her knees, grabbed her upper arms and clawed her distorted fingers into them in order to distract herself from the pain of her severe burns. Eventually she managed to suppress her Yoki.

After a while Lisa came downhill to find Karin kneeling amidst the shattered battleground. She couldn't do anything but stare at the scene in disbelief. Seemingly endless minutes passed in absolute silence. For whatever reason Harun was gone, probably dead. Karin had severe burns on her wrists, ankles and feet, her shoulders, her back and around her hips and waist. Nothing was left of her uniform and armor, only her claymore, covered by metallic dust like the ground around her, was lying behind her. It took a while until the heavily breathing warrior tried to stand up.

Lisa picked up the claymore, sheathed in the second sheath of her armor and then supported Karin as the both of them were returning to their comrades.

###

After the both of them had climbed the hill Lisa could see that Anna was awake, her head still resting on Lea's lap. Lisa was relieved to see that Anna's life apparently wasn't in danger anymore. She then helped the exhausted Karin to sit down.

Regarding their party she stemmed her hands into her waist and sighed in relief. "So this was our first encounter with a male Class Two Awakened Being," she said. "We've had it pretty bad."

Anna smiled bitterly. "Says the one who is perfectly alright."

"I'm okay, too," Lea tut at them, "in case somebody cares."

Karin was already carefully releasing small amounts of Yoki to take care of her burns. But then, suddenly, a shockwave ran through her body and her Yoki unleashed itself.

For a moment the air around Karin became incredibly hot. The grass around her that had withered due to the climatic conditions of that area anyways burned to ash, the soil below her turned black and the logs supporting the boulder next to her charred, broke under the boulder's weight and then said boulder began to roll down the hill. Lisa and Lea grabbed Anna's arms and, carrying her, mad a long leap away from Karin to not get burned, too. Then the heat disappeared and a heavy aura began originating from Karin that the other tree warriors were able to feel despite having taken suppressants – and it was even heavier than before.

Her outburst had raised dust that was then slowly floating to the ground, unveiling Karin. Their eyes were widened in shock as her comrades regarded her: she was kneeling on burned ground, her claw-like fingers clawed into the ground. Each and every of her muscles had grown significantly and was tense to the point of them twitching and shaking. Her skin had become dark, ashen so, and her burns looked like flesh that had rotten black. Her face had become one not too different from that of a Yoma and was flooded by tears.

"Dear gods…" Anna whispered. "Don't tell me she's…"

"Darn it!" Karin interrupted her, apparently not noticing her presence at all. "My body… is acting up… control… is slipping…"

 _That pressing aura_ , Lisa mused, _is way heavier than before. Has she actually crossed her limits? If so, then we must…_

Abruptly her thoughts were interrupted and shoved out of her mind by visions of Karin's past. She saw a scene in which a bunch of corpses, a family, as it appeared, were scattered in something resembling a sitting room. It was a cross sight. Right in front of her she could see a Yoma, whimpering, sobbing and begging. Not for his life, but for his death. The person, through whose eyes she saw, extended her hand to him and said: "Let us help each other!"

After having seen that scene over and over for what felt like hours Lisa returned to reality. However, time had seemingly not passed there because the situation had not changed at all. Lisa clicked her tongue and then said in a grim manner: "And now you are awakening? You put us in your debt by saving our sorry asses and now you force us to kill you so you don't awaken?"

A shockwave emerged from Karin that startled the other women. Laboriously and as if she was in slow motion she raised her head and the determined gaze of her expressionless face met Lisa's. "I am not… awakening!" she said falteringly but vigorously.

Lea had to avert her gaze in pain. That just was not what Karin deserved. She had obviously passed her limits and would awaken. She knew exactly. Every warrior knew it. The more Yoki one released, the more power one gained, but at the same time one taxed one's body and even more so one's mind. As long as one stood below a certain percentage of released Yoki it was possible to suppress it again and return to normal, but the moment one released more than 80 percent there was no turning back – and only one way to avert awakening.

Anna, still constrained due to her body's condition, slowly arose, drew her claymore and, without getting closer to her, ignoring pleading gazes from Lea, walked around Karin until she was placed sideways to her, roughly five meters away. She then sternly said: "I apologize, Karin, but you have breached your limits and are about to awaken. The only way to prevent that is to decapitate you while your consciousness is still that of a human." She then closed her eyes, shoved out all of her doubts about the situation out of her thoughts and took a deep breath. Opening her eyes again she asked, well knowing that she could not be mindful for whatever answer Karin might give: "Are you ready?"

Within Karin there lay a potential vaster than anything she had ever seen. Even she, who had an eye for that sort of thing, had, so she assumed, not even seen the surface of it. Probably, so she knew, it might have been possible for her to suppress her Yoki despite having passed her limits – her Yoki Manipulation skills were something else, after all. But Anna couldn't afford leaving room for experiments. Not in Karin's case. Considering how Karin had killed someone who had been number one, even if briefly, after he had awakened, as well as the potential within her, she had no reason to ponder. Additionally, even if she would probably have never been able to prove it, she assumed that Karin had never intended to stick to the plan but rather use Anna, Lisa and Lea as tools in order to gather information about her enemy. What she actually believed was that they had all survived by pure chance.

Just as she had prepared herself Karin insisted: "I am not… awakening!" Just as she had finished her sentence yet another shockwave blasted over the hill's top. Shaking, Karin turned her head to the side to look at Anna directly. Her face was tear-stained and filled with desperate wrath as she growled: "I am not… accepting death!"

"I truly am sorry," Anna tried to assure her, "but at this point you will either awaken or die. And I am not going to let the former happen."

Swiftly she covered the distance between her and the awakening Karin and tried to take her head, but her attempt came to nothing for Karin had suddenly vanished. The ground below Anna burst asunder and hence she lost her footing. Chunks of it were sent flying at an enormous speed and one of them hit her inconveniently enough to shatter both of her right legs shinbones. "Shit!" she grunted and collapsed onto the cracked ground.

Karin had moved only a few meters. Her posture hadn't changed a bit, but she was struggling with her steadily mutating body even more than before. The muscles of her upper back had begun to act in an inhuman manner and were crawling beneath her burned skin like snakes.

"My leg is broken," Anna grunted. "I can't get close to her again… she'd kill me!"

"Anna!" Lea, who was rushing towards her, exclaimed in a berating manner. "She wouldn't do that!"

"Just take a look at her!" Anna snarled at her startled comrade, regretted it instantly and apologized ruefully.

"I see now!" Lisa suddenly called just as if she had awakened from some kind of trance.

"What do you understand?" Lea asked her.

Lisa turned herself towards Karin, directly gazing at her and then gave an extensive explanation of what she had thought of: "Each warrior who surpasses her limits does wish for nothing more than to die as a human before her awakening actually occurs. Your Yoki gave me some nice insight on you… and I know that you, also, have no intention of becoming a monster. You'd much rather die. However, you stubbornly insist on us letting you live – or more accurately, on you not awakening. And I know exactly why that is, Karin. You strongly believe that there is something you and only you can do. You desperately cling to the idea that you absolutely have to do it before you die. To an extent at which you ignore what it is you truly want and instead foolishly are ready to abandon your humanity in order to prove yourself right. It is conflicting: You want to prove that Yoma can live as humans amongst humans without endangering them. You have accepted that a certain portion, probably all of the Yoma have been humans before despite your sense telling you how that is impossible. And you also believe that, if Yoma used to be humans, there should be no reason for them to continue preying on humans. Yet you believe that Awakened Beings are all monsters after your encounters with Ariane and Harun. If it holds true that all Yoma once were humans and if you consider that all Awakened Beings actually were humans once – why would you assume Yoma could live as humans but Awakened Beings cannot? Moreover, you are ready to abandon your own humanity in order to prove that nonsensical beliefs you have? Just how are you going to do it if you become a monster yourself?"

"By not awakening!" Karin bullheadedly shot back instantly.

"But that is not the way it works!" Lisa angrily yelled at her.

"You gave the answer… yourself…" Karin explained determinedly, "abandoning… my humanity… that is a decision… and I am not going… to make it…"

Another shockwave was rolling above the hill as the skin on Karin's back began to be torn open by the moving muscles beneath.

"Are you and idiot?" Lisa shouted, filled with rage. "What if you are wrong? Are you aware what kind of danger you would pose to the humans if you awakened?"

"I am not… wrong!" Karin determinedly shouted.

At least that was what she wanted to believe. Already she had begun to doubt that she would be able to suppress her Yoki by sheer force of will anymore. Especially the fact that someone like Harun had had the ability to influence what she thought to be a decision was a fundamental hole in her beliefs. Fueled by her raging Yoki her doubts grew constantly and soon, of that she was certain, she would give up and let her comrades kill her.

Lea had all the time sat next to Anna and listened to everything quietly. She hated how things had become and how helpless she had to feel about all of it. Still, she just couldn't sit still and let that happen to Karin. Maybe she was unable to help her, but she would at least try. Resolutely she arose and began to walk towards Karin.

"Lea? What are you doing?" Anna worriedly asked her.

Unflinchingly and more convincing than she had thought she would be able to she said: "What do you think? You can't help her anymore and Lisa seems to rather be babbling stuff only she understands" – Lisa was hit by that, averted her gaze and clicked her tongue – "instead of helping, so I am going to do it!"

As she had reached the barely controlling herself Karin she drew her blade, grabbed its handle with both hands and rose it. _Can't move_ , Karin was thinking as the blade dropped – and crashed into the ground next to her. Instinctively she had closed her eyes. Since her head was not dropping as she had expected it to do she opened her eyes again and got sight of blood on the ground. But it wasn't hers. Hesitatingly she rose her gaze and regarded Lea who had been impaled in what seemed to be a hundred spots by black, muscle-like strands. Black strands that had emerged from Karin's back muscles. In disbelief her eyes widened upon she began to realize what she might possibly have done to Lea.

"Lea!" Anna screamed desperately and tried to rush towards her, but stumbled and fell due to her broken leg. Lisa ran to her and kept her from getting back up again. "Don't!" she warned. "Or she will get you too!"

Lea coughed up blood and some of its droplets landed on Karin's face. "I am not… dead yet," she faintly mumbled. She then began to slump down but was caught by Karin who suddenly seemed to be in control of her body again. Immediately she noticed how her comrade's body had gone absolutely limp. She cried and sobbed: "What have you been thinking?"

Despite she was not able to turn her face towards Karin anymore the small warrior still forced herself to smile. She then, with the faintest of voices, said: "Two years ago… when I was still a newbie… I had a good friend… amongst my comrades. I've been small… and weak… but she took care… of me… and made me strong… so I could survive. One day… she didn't return… from a mission… and I've been told… that Ariane… should've been executed… by my friend and… her comrades. But she had refused… and instead… killed them all. I've been heartbroken… for a long time… after that day. And then… a few weeks ago… I heard that you… had killed Ariane… and that had filled me… with peace. I was… very happy."

The black strands that had emerged from her upper back pulled themselves out of Lea's body and began to retract and merge with her own body again. "Let me see… your face," Lea whispered. So Karin carefully turned her around in her arms but still held her closely.

Anna and Lisa both were not able to get closer or say anything. Both of them had already understood the full weight of the situation. There was nothing they could do and so they instead listened closely to the fading voice of their comrade, as she continued: "When Harun had brought me… in desperate straits… I was afraid. After I had finally found… Anna… another great friend… and also Lisa… and you… yet… I was about… to awaken. I feared… that I would… kill you all… if I awakened. But then… when I felt… your Yoki… I don't know… I suddenly felt… like… there was… no need… to be… afraid… anymore. Again… I was… very happy."

The heaviness of Karin's Yoki began to fade.

"I know it was… stupid. But… I couldn't… just… let you… awaken… after… you saved… me. I wanted… I'm… sorry."

Karin's Yoki faded and her body became that of a human again. What remained was the naked, sobbing Karin who was kneeling on the ground, holding the comrade in her arms that was dying for her sake.

"Why would you do that… for me?" she asked tremblingly.

"Because… because of… you…" she said with her last breath, "I was… happy… again."

Smiling in bliss and having her face overrun by tears her eyes closed for the last time, leaving Karin behind. Devastated and Empty.

###

At the base of a hill on the Attaja-plateau, midst charred tree stubs and bushes, there was located another, much smaller hill. Atop that small hill an indestructible claymore had been stuck into it, marking the final resting place of its former owner. In front of that hill a silently crying warrior with an improvised leg brace on her right lower leg was kneeling. Behind her there stood another warrior who was telling her with a torturously monotone voice of visions she had had during the last moments of her fallen comrade.

Some ten meters afar from them stood Karin, gazing nowhere. Even though there were a lot of things that she had to think about the only thing that was on her mind was the sight of her perforated comrade. And that sight was steadily accompanied by the thought that, no matter how she looked at it, Lea's death had been her fault and her fault alone. She painfully realized that she was not always in control, that there were things bound to happen no matter whether she decided on them or not. For as long as she could remember she had faithfully believed that each intelligent being was solely responsible for its decisions. Hence her believe that each intelligent being could live without killing.

Yet she had killed one of her comrades – and she had definitely not decided to do that. Reluctantly she began to face up to the question whether situations like that were a common thing. Did humans kill without deciding to do so? Did warriors kill without deciding to do so? Did Awakened Ones kill without deciding to do so? Did Yoma kill without deciding to do so? She did not know. She did not know at all. What she had believed in for so long suddenly began to crumble right before her eyes. If beings killed on a regular basis without deciding to do so, without wanting to do so – was the world without killing that she wished for possible at all?

Lisa, who had decided to let Anna grieve in silence – she felt she hadn't listened to her at all, anyways – turned her head to take a look at Karin. What she had been able to see in her Yoki, in her memories, had given rise to more questions that it had answered. Karin viewed Yoma as empathic, human-like beings capable of logical reason, which they clearly weren't. Naturally, Lisa could have settled for Karin simply mistaking the human behaviors and emotions a Yoma disguised itself with for actual human behaviors and emotions. But it had been drilled into each end every warrior time and time again that everything seeming human about Yoma, no matter how convincing it was, simply wasn't real. Yoma had but two interests: food and survival. Also, Lisa deemed Karin too smart to fall for a play that she knew was one. _So_ , Lisa pondered, _what let's you think of them the way you do?_

Also, from Karin's memories of her fight with Ariane, Lisa had gotten to know about her brother and that he had been a Yoma. But Lisa had not been able to see anything else about that matter at all. It was not like she could look for specific information. By sensing Yoki she got to see random events of the Yoki's owner's past, but – and that she knew from experience – significant memories usually popped up first. And, that was what Lisa thought, having a Yoma in one's family should have made for quite a few significant memories. So, where were those memories? After all she had had quite a bit of time to see her past. Enough time to know that Karin preferred passing obstacles on the right side if she could. Compared to what she had hoped to see that seemed utterly trivial.

However, Lisa was content. She's always had a nose for interesting people. That time as well: it had been a while since she had met someone that was firing her imagination so much. Especially at that moment, when Karin's mind was probably about to break down from the guilt of killing a comrade she had brought upon herself, Lisa's mouth was literally watering. Not only that, Karin had breached her limits and returned to being human – a feat that was thought to be impossible. Thinking about how many interesting stories she would be able to tell about her filled Lisa with glee.

Anna dried her face. She then took a deep breath and arose. After she had went past Lisa using her claymore as a crook, the latter's eyes were following her with flagrant interest as she was walking towards Karin. She stopped right in front of her absentminded seeming comrade.

"Karin," she said gravely, making her, who was apparently startled, look up at her. "We need to talk about the Yoma thing."

The tall warrior's gaze dropped to the floor. Even before the fight she had already suspected that she wouldn't get away easily after what she had done in Arnea. Back then, however, she had not known that every little detail about her relations to the Yoma would be known by then. She never had imagined that there was a warrior capable of seeing into other warrior's pasts. And she had also not anticipated that her Yoki would be so strong as to outclass the suppressant. She desperately tried to convince herself that she was prepared for whatever might come. But she was not sure whether or not she would get away this time.

"Lisa has informed me in great detail about everything she was able to learn from your memories. Due to your lax, not to say treacherous way of treating Yoma," – she raised her voice angrily – "for fucks sake, Karin, you are friends with some of them!" – she took a breath and then continued sternly – "It is safe to say that you are partially responsible for hundreds of murders committed by Yoma. In addition to that you deliberately hid Yoma from me. That alone is, and I hope you are aware of that, a crime severe enough to justify execution!"

Karin gulped audibly. Anna was perfectly right: if a human died because of a warrior that warrior was to be executed. And she was very well aware that the Yoma that she had let get away have killed more than just one person.

"I am not done yet, however," Anna fiercely continued, "I am also alleging that you have never intended to follow our strategy against Harun in the first place! You willingly risked the lives and souls of your comrades just so you could-"

Anna was harshly interrupted by Karin's fist landing in the middle of her face. The punch was strong enough to knock the ailing warrior off her feet and have her drop onto her rear. Boiling with anger she wanted to yell at Karin, but the latter beat her to the punch and, wearing the most marmorean of all faces, answered: "Yes, it is true. Everything concerning the Yoma is true. But I am not going to let you accuse me of willfully risking the lives of my comrades!"

Those words were echoing over the plateau despite being said with a calm voice. Lisa was brimming with excitement and her eyes were beaming. A part of her that she was not ashamed of in the slightest wished for the both of them to continue that discussion forever just so she could tell everyone about it.

Karin continued calmly: "As you were fighting Harun I assumed that, as long as there was no need to take care of your Yoki, I could control him! That was a grave miscalculation on my part, I admit that. Because, while I was trying to look for his weak spots and keeping him from injuring Lea he suddenly exerted his Emotional Control on her and that so fast that I could not counter it anymore and hence had to signal the failure of Plan A. It is true, I made a grave mistake, but under no circumstances would I ever willingly put your lives in danger."

Anna ground her teeth. To her it was incomprehensible how that woman could face those accusations without the faintest of expressions in her face and voice. She had no means of telling whether that woman was telling the truth or was just giving a memorized excuse. The sole truth that remained, however, was that Lea was dead.

Lisa, who had joined them, helped Anna to stand up. _Too bad_ , she thought, _they seem to be done already_.

"Listen well, Karin," Anna said sternly while laboriously suppressing her anger, "I told you before: the regions twenty-one to thirty are my turf. Not only are you responsible for hundreds of dead humans, you also disobeyed my orders and, be it at will or not, that led to the death of a precious comrade and personal friend of mine. I am not going to overlook those things. It was a mistake to trust you. You are but a traitor." She turned around and was about to leave when she added: "And Lorenz will not be overlooking this, either."

Anna then left, as dignifiedly as she could with a broken leg and a claymore for a crook. After looking at her leave for a while Lisa turned around to Karin and said: "I'll be on my way, too," she said and turned away. "You're in big troubles – hum, what did he call you again? – Ah, _Karin the Tranquil_! Be a good kid and don't die so soon, okay?"

"Wait, is that my nickname now?" Karin asked a little surprised.

Lisa began to walk away and waved. "Gotta spread the news, gotta spread the news…"

Karin sighed.

After a while, when she was alone, she walked over to Lea's grave. Minutes passed while she was only regarding it in silence. She then turned around and set off to her own region.

"I am sorry," she whispered into the wind.

* * *

I hope you liked it.

Next time Lady Astarte will get her reports from the people on Test Facility 4. And Karin will face betrayal - but by who? See you next time!


	5. When values shatter

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Claymore. I own the OCs and the story I wrote.

It took a while this time, sorry about that. We get to know a litle more about Stella Astarte and, as announced, Kerin will face betrayal.

Enjoy!

* * *

 **005 – When values shatter**

Before the battle between Anna's Awakened Being Hunting Party and former number eleven, Harun, would begin on the Attaja-plateau, the regular visit of the head of the Organization, Lady Stella Astarte, on Test Facility 4 was taking place.

Official reason for that event was exchanging and sharing ideas between the headquarters on Unikum and the research facility on Test Facility 4. It always started off with the current situation at both garrisons being presented by the respective representatives. Afterwards the Chief of Research would inform Stella Astarte about current researches as well as recently finished ones and what the results were. And then, after all this was done, they would discuss what to do during the following years. Or so was the plan.

Well, Lady Astarte indeed played her part, as she always did, and told the people of Test Facility 4 about the state of affairs on the mainland.

Ever since the war had broken out the Loranian United Kingdom – LUK for shorts – had constantly been losing land and people. That had become slightly better during the years before, after the silver eyed warriors had been brought forth by the Loranian military. Still, about 40% of the original population had to live on about 10% of the land the LUK used to own. Yet again several divisions of the male warriors had awakened and caused losses in quintuple figures before they could be taken care of. Still, so many of them awakening were good news in itself: then, only one division of male soldiers was remaining, lead by General Baltos Kenas, and once that one was gone too – and that Lady Astarte made sure to emphasize – the number of Awakenings would go down drastically close to the point of being irrelevant.

The numbers of female hybrid warriors had reached 10 000, mainly because the mortality rate of girls and young woman being turned into hybrids had went down to 18% and the quality of those warriors had also constantly increased. And that – and she made sure to emphasize that, too – was thanks to the diligent and dutiful work of the researchers in all facilities. "With things as they are," she said in a gentle voice that yet was void of all emotion, "the last male division will very soon not be needed anymore. The Drapurwall, as you may know, is acting as a natural barrier between us and the Ashkaram."

Indeed, it was thanks to that mountain ridge that the LUK had not been wiped off Unikum at that point. Like a natural shield it was located west of the east peninsula Adria, spanning from the ocean in the north all the way to the ocean in the south, sheltering what was left of the LUK. About 6000 kilometers long, about 300 meters high on average with more than ten summits of more than 1000 meters and almost only sheer rock walls in the west it was the perfect protection against Awakened Ashkaram – simply because, unlike their non-awakened counterparts, they could not climb. So, for the time being, the people of the LUK were safe.

And that mountain ridge had another practical use as Lady Astarte explained further: "In fact a lot of Awakened Ashkaram have gathered there, unable to pass it. And I think it would be nice for the last men" – her voice turned menacingly cold – "to be able to be of service to us once more by killing as many of them as they can – and die in the process."

None of the men clad in black reacted to that statement. All of them had known Lady Stella Astarte long enough to know that she would sacrifice anyone and everything without a second thought if she deemed it the best course of action. That was the kind of person she was to them. The four ranked warriors present reacted differently, because they knew that one day it could be them being used like that. Especially Ayame ground her teeth, visibly so, earning herself a friendly reminder from Lorenz that her feelings would not concern Lady Astarte in the slightest. So she remained silent. She knew very well what kind of person the head of the Organization actually was. Or rather, what kind of monster lurked behind the façade the humans saw.

All in all, and so the Organization's head concluded her speech, in the following few years the overall situation would improve and plans for retaking lost land would be able to be put into action.

She could, however, not help but think how ironic all of that was. If she were to step onto the battlefield herself she would, on her own, be able to retake land far beyond the former borders of the LUK. But that was not her task in this war, not the role she was supposed to play. At times, when she was being told how difficult it was to just hold the line atop the mountain ridge, she felt like laughing out loud about just how utterly desperate the situation of the humans was. It felt to her like playing chess with an army of pawns against rooks, bishops and knights and even though all she would have to do was to swipe them off of the board she kept sending pawn after pawn to die.

But swiping the board clean was against the rules, as well has her taking action directly. So she didn't do it and instead had to watch the pathetic struggle of the humans, clutching every straw she secretly handed them.

She knew the war was not going to end soon. The contrary was true: as long as it was necessary she would do whatever was in her power to prolong it. And as long as she could not entrust the humans to someone capable of bearing their survival, she would continue to do that.

After she had finished her speech she sat down and Chief of Operations Wache arose. It was his turn to explain the current situation of Test Facility 4 to her. Much to her relief he was brief. Actually that made sense to her – on a small continent couldn't be that much going on, anyways. The only somewhat interesting incident had been the current number one, "Mindeater Risa", fighting off the awakened former number one, the most powerful Awakened Being on Test Facility 4, and making him go into hiding in the west. She nodded at her, genuinely acknowledging what she had done. _When our main task here is done_ , she mused, _I should have her come to Unikum as a General. Especially since we very soon will be short one._

Moments ago she had been glad that Wache had made it quick, but that feeling was blown away the moment Kruos arose. Therewith the by far most horribly boring part of the conference was about to begin: the rat-faced dwarf, calling himself Chief of Research, would, using his shallow, whispering, sizzling voice that made any snake sound like it was just failing to imitate him, for endless minutes and hours, sand every last one of her nerves, just as if he would be going at it with a pad sander. Going into the most microscopic details he would inform her about anything a hybrid had done that was at least as interesting as the unusual consistence of a peasant's stool.

She hated him.

He would throw names of warriors at her that she had never heard and would never hear again, just because they did something he wasn't dead certain they were able to.

Yes, she hated him.

And he did all that in a way that made it seem like he was some sort of creative genius despite is actual work not being more complicated than that of a cook gutting out a goose and then stuffing a stuffing into it he hadn't even made himself – at least as much as she was concerned.

She hated him so much that she, one day, would scupper him all and sundry the continent he crawled on into the ocean.

One day. One very pleasant day.

Unfortunately enough he was one of the very few that could do what he was doing without breaking down from it at some point. Because what he had, or rather was lacking, was a conscience. He did what he was told without asking questions and his sick mind thought of things that were even grossing her out at times. At least that much about him was interesting – and probably the only reason she had not torn him apart years before.

So, while Kruos was apparently trying to torture her and the other listeners to death excessively, her inner eye was searching for the only potentially interesting person on that continent. Shortly after she had spotted her, but some hundred kilometers away – just a stone's throw in her book. She could observe her, together with three other warriors, slaying several laughably weak Awakened Beings, one after the other. Her role was a passive one, for all she did was using Yoki Manipulation to make it impossible for her enemies to do as much as twitch. Pleased, she saw that she was doing so without the smallest amount of strain. It seemed to her that, since her last visit three years before, the girl that just did not want to be killed by Yoma had come quite a way, being able to face Awakened Beings – though weak ones – like that.

 _Your mother would be proud_ , she thought.

The endless talking of Kruos was slowly but steadily fading out of her mind as the group of warriors around her actual reason of having come to Test Facility 4 at all suddenly was confronted with an Awakened Being that must have seemed impossible to defeat to them. She enjoyed watching how that girl outsmarted even an Awakened Being of that caliber by faking her comrades deaths via the suppressant and then using the enemies own dirty tricks against himself – right before tearing him to shreds using the sheer force of her Yoki. She could not help but take a liking in that girl.

Then her eyes visibly widened for but a moment before returning to normal and she arose and walked to a window as Kruos unwaveringly kept on talking.

Cologne's gaze was following her every movement. _So she has noticed. No, of course she has._

That girl, Karin, had become the sole reason for Lady Astarte to have any interest in Test Facility 4 at all and to endure Kruos' torture. _And now_ , Cologne thought worriedly, _that girl has breached her limits_.

Her stomach cramped. Karin was of fundamental meaning for Test Facility 4 and very important to Lady Astarte. What would she do if Karin was to awaken, right then? Then Test Facility 4 to Lady Astarte would become nothing more than a large island with a bunch of uninteresting warriors on it.

She could very well imagine her just laying devastation to the whole continent in a fit of rage.

Taking a look around she could see that Ayame, Risa and Vectra also had noticed what was going on. All of them had their gazes turned towards the Attaja-plateau in worry and anticipation.

Cologne then closed her eyes and concentrated on Karin's Yoki. The technique that had earned her her name, the Clairvoyance, allowed her to feel any sensations of any being whose Yoki she could sense. As if watching a movie she could witness Karin fighting for her soul. Her hearth skipped a beat as she could see her body skewering one of her comrades against her will. And then her Yoki vanished.

Astonished she opened her eyes and blinked a few times. Then she, yet again, took a look around: apart from Lillaine, who was looking at Lady Astarte as if she was in some kind of trance, all her other comrades had that same confused looks in their faces. So it had not been her imagination. Karin's Yoki had vanished. And of the four only she could tell that it was not because she had been killed.

Suddenly her gaze shifted towards Lady Astarte.

And she seemed content.

Without as much of a warning Lady Astarte turned around and cut Kruos short: "Well then, Kruos, won't you stop boasting about your exhausting little shenanigans and tell me about the girl that I brought to Test Facility 4?"

A heavy silence then unfolded in the hall. The men were exchanging concerned looks while the warriors had to suppress grins and giggles. It had finally happened: somebody had told Kruos to stop with his exhausting speeches and on top of that it had been Lady Stella Astarte herself.

The Chief of Research had no idea how to act in a situation like that. Something like that had never happened before. He was breaking out in cold sweat and his heart rate reached heights thought to be impossible. He had completely lost his train of thought.

Lillaine had awakened from her trance the moment Lady Astarte had spoken up to Kruos. She realized instantly that what she had said had hit him hard. She was tugging at his sleeve hoping to get a reaction, but that reaction never came. Indignant about how Lady Astarte had treated Kruos she trudged over to her and treaded onto the ground in front of her with such force that a noticeable tremble went through the building that even surprised the other warriors. Only Lady Astarte stayed calm and, smiling mildly, was looking down to the apparently mad girl.

"What is the issue, my dear?" she asked gently.

"Pipe down!" the green eyed girl hissed at her. "I'm not your dear, you stupid, old hag!"

She had said especially the last three words with such fierceness that Lady Astarte had felt something break deep within her with each and every one of them.

The faces of everyone present were being painted in dismay. Never before anyone had talked to Lady Astarte like that without being executed immediately. Even Kruos had snapped out of it, rushed next to Lillaine and tryied to, apologizing for her bad behavior, drag her away to no avail.

"You've been mean to Kruos and you better apologize for it!" Lillaine demanded loudly.

The Chief of Research could already see her head rolling. Especially the fact that Risa had risen from her seat fortified his assumption that, for the first time ever, one of his creations would die simply because she was unable to keep her mouth shut.

Just as Risa was about to draw her claymore she, to everyone's surprise, stopped in her tracks at a barely visible gesture of Lady Astarte.

The latter arose and then squat down in front of Lillaine to be on the same eye level as her. Earnestly looking at her she said: "Listen, little girl. All of us do have a lot of things to do and even though Kruos might have put a lot of effort into his report, it was futile for he has little of interest to say. I barely asked him to get to the important part so we can finish here and all get back to work. Do you understand that?"

Lillaine did not seem impressed. It took Kruos a lot of effort to get Lillaine to keep quiet, forget about it and wait for him in the hallway.

While the girl was walking proudly and defiantly out of the hall Lady Astarte's gaze followed her. _That girl got guts_ , she though, smiling inwardly.

Apologizing for what felt like a thousand times Kruos went back to his seat and put all the papers prepared in vain aside and took a single page that he hated just as much as the person it had information about. However much he hated her, though, he had now to dedicate himself to her and so he reported: "Test subject seven hundred and twelve of the twenty-fifth generation, Karin Lanzelot, at the moment this facility's number thirty, has developed conformable to the expectations we have of hybrids. Her physical development is not as breathtakingly fast as it was with her mother. As expected, however, she has extraordinary sensory abilities. Observations have shown that she is able to detect weak Yoma-Yoki from distances up to two hundred and fifty kilometers away. For battle-relevant distances she is able to detect movements before they take place. So, like her mother, she is capable of the PYFA, the Precise Yoki-Flow-Analysis. Furthermore she has, unlike her mother, developed the ability of manipulating Yoki of other Yoki-users, though this ability is at the moment restricted to Yoma-Yoki. Similar to her mother she has an outstandingly dense Yoki that grows noticeably faster than usual Yoki, but not as fast as her mother's. All in all you could say that she is going to be the defensive counterpart to her mother. Additionally there are two things that have not been expected of her. On the one hand her Yoki seems to hold the power to set things aflame. That might be due to her Yoki's density that is even greater than her mother's Yoki's density. On the other hand – and here it gets interesting – her Yoki seems to hold the power to lure Awakened Beings."

The last words made Lady Astarte's interest in Kruos' words visibly multiply. She looked directly at him, who had paused for a moment to drink some water, and asked: "How does that manifest?"

The Chief of Research answered: "A while ago she, using big amounts of Yoki, defeated an Awakened Being. Shortly afterwards roughly a dozen Awakened Beings had shown up on the site of the battle. All of them were in their human forms and highly apathetic. My men and me were able to walk around between them and do our investigations and studies on the living objects, while they reacted solely by looking at us in disinterest. Merely trying to take them away from there alive was something they heavily struggled against. So we only could bring back their corpses for further investigations – and, let me mention, they gracefully let themselves be turned into those."

Lorenz smirked after he had heard all that. It almost seemed like the Awakened Beings had followed Karin's summons, just, like the Sha-Karin, the goddess of endmost tranquility, had done it in the ancient times. His gaze immediately wandered to Lady Astarte, whose eyes were seemingly brightening up by the minute. He knew that, after what she had heard, she would begin to follow that girl's every step closely, because she was closest to the one person she was looking for amongst the hybrids she was watching. Everything Karin then still needed was time to ripen.

The head of the Organization arose and thanked Kruos astoundingly sincerely, who then fulsomely thanked her. Then, taking everyone aback, she declared: "In the view of the occasion I am going to prolong my stay here. Also, since nothing of interest has happened in the other parts of the world, I am herewith dismissing you so you can get back to work."

After a short period of disarray the men began to arise and leave the hall, accompanied by their assigned warriors. Lady Astarte took the chance to step close to Wache and demanded: "On a word!" Without hesitation he followed her to the sideroom she had waited in before the assembly had begun. While he was closing the door she offered him a seat as well as a glass of bourbon. He refused both.

He was tense. It did not happen that often for Lady Astarte to talk to some of her underlings in person, but if she did it was mostly something of importance to the whole Organization.

She was then taking off her heavy white robe without restraint to reveal light, simple woolen clothes, and threw it onto a small table. While watching the scene he had to restrain his thoughts from drifting into improper directions. He, as the human that he was, did not see her as the farouche, noble above everyone, godlike woman with the platinum with hair and the eyes of all colors and yet none, that only those capable of sensing Yoki saw and he, as a human, did not hear thousands of voices when she spoke. He saw her as a mature woman made of flesh and blood, formed by the desires of his most secret dreams – a disguise every human fell for.

His hearth skipped a beat as she sat down, put her feet up on another chair, leaned back and then sighed exhaustedly. "That person is so debilitating," she complained about the Chief of Research, "how are you able to stand being with him every day?"

"To be honest," Wache explained truthfully, "I only see him once or twice a month, when he comes to ask permission for something. Also, he might have a demanding personality, but he is one of the members of this facility that I trust the most."

"Indeed," Lady Astarte said, "he is doing his work without a doubt. But he seems to have a distinctive dislike of Karin, I noticed that during his report. Don't let him interfere with her too much."

"As you order, Lady Astarte," Wache confirmed.

"Very well," she said and took a sip of bourbon. "There is something else," she continued, "how are things with her obedience? After all her mother as well as her grandfather are a little… stubborn."

Wache furled his brows. It was clear to him that the head of the Organization had posed that question with a certain assumption. Palliating the facts he explained: "As we speak she is on a mission together with our number thirty-one. She is capable of looking into the past of other warriors. We do not have a certain suspicion," he lied, what did not go unnoticed by Lady Astarte, "but if she has something to hide, thirty-one will find out about it."

She emptied her glass and, while filling it anew, said: "Karin is of utmost importance to us. Concerning her, regardless of the circumstances, nothing is to be decided without my consent. Make sure to inform everyone about this. You may leave."

"Yes Ma'am!" he said and left.

Walking through the hall of the assembly his face and mood turned dark. If Karin came to know that she was under the protection of the Organization's head… He shook his head to get those thoughts out of it. There was no way she would get to know.

###

Within the forest beneath the Attaja-plateau, not far from it, next to a small lake, Karin had decided to stay and wait for her next mission. Almost a week had passed after the battle with Harun and during that time nobody had contacted her in any way.

Unused to not having anything to do she had begun to train her physics.

The battle before had painfully shown her her limits. Her own weaknesses had led to her losing control of herself and killing one of her comrades in the process. The memories of that moment tortured her when she was awake and even more so when she tried to fall asleep. In her dreams she had seen herself as the embodiment of death, a figure in a black cloak armed with a large scythe, mercilessly executing those before her.

To escape those nightmares she had not slept in four days despite usually spending up to twelve hours a day asleep and instead began to walk around while swinging her claymore. That was, in fact, all she was actually doing, because she had never before done so much as think about refining her technique. To her it had up until then always been sufficient to kill her opponents by manipulating their Yoki – or overpowering them by using excessive amounts of her Yoki.

However, of the former she was not capable enough to solely rely on it when fighting Awakened Ones and the latter bore too much risk for her and others. She had believed to be aware of those weaknesses. And she had thought that neither would ever pose a problem. But she had then understood how wrong she had been and that she had to improve in more than one way.

Working on her physical capabilities was the first step she wanted to take. She had seen Lisa's strength and Lea's agility and had realized how inferior she was to either of them. What, if she ever was to meet someone like them that was able to suppress their Yoki completely? She would die, she had figured.

And then there was the issue with Anna. With Lisa's help she had found out everything about how she herself thought about Yoma and what she had done due to that. And she would tell Lorenz at the first chance she got. Karin thought that she would need to wait what Lorenz had to say to her regarding those matters, but she was aware that she would get in serious trouble. Yet another reason for her to be prepared.

Suddenly she paused to think. And then she dropped to her knees.

What was she deluding herself for? She had betrayed the Organization and would be sentenced to death by a firing squad. Why bother preparing? Would she be able to take down her comrades in order to save her life as Ariane had? Surely not. And even if she would, the Organization would just send someone stronger. There was no way they would run out of choices quickly. Who was she to think that her life would just go on?

She had screwed up. The only course of action left for the Organization at that point was her execution.

Suddenly Jonas came to mind. He was relying on her. If she were to be executed, what would become of him? If there was a Yoma capable of living without killing it was him.

"If there was…" she whispered melancholically. Even she was questioning her ideals already.

 _What am I doing?_ she asked herself. _My own actions made me doubt what I believe in._

She could only think of one person to help her through her current state of mind. She closed her eyes and concentrated, looking for a certain Yoma.

###

Anna sat, legs crossed, on a small boulder. On the ground before here there were the still glowing remains of the campfire that had given her light during the night. The badly needed new uniform Lorenz had brought her she had literally pried out of his hands before hastily putting it on. It had instantly made her feel comfortable again, especially since her broken leg had already healed, too.

Thoroughly and portentously she had told her handler about everything Lisa had been able to see in Karin's Yoki. Lorenz had listened to every single word and had found the suspicions he had had for months confirmed completely.

He found himself in an uncomfortable situation. Per se the situation was unmistakably clear: Karin had disobeyed orders many times which had led to hundreds of deaths and, even though it was not completely verifiable, about ten other warriors had fallen due to the appearance of unexpected Yoma, too. Last but not least, and that was certain, she had endangered her comrades in the battle with Harun and, even if not on purpose, she had killed number 24, Lea.

The severity of all those crimes could only be answered with an execution of Karin and he could see it in Anna's eyes as clear as day that it was exactly what she expected to hear from him.

 _Certainly_ , he mused, _you'd like to go after her yourself. After all… you and that girl have been close friends, am I not right, Anna?_

And in every other case he would have prompted an execution without hesitation.

But not in Karin's case.

She was under the personal protection of Lady Stella Astarte. And as long as she would not occasion an execution there would not be one. After the assembly had been over she had told him directly that, whatever Karin did, threatening her would need to suffice.

However, he could not tell Anna how Karin was under Lady Astarte's protection. Actually, he could not even tell her that Lady Astarte existed.

So he had to try and convince Anna: "Those are indeed grave accusations you are making. And, as you know, I have had, for a while now, the suspicion of her being too friendly towards Yoma. However, without actual evidence, it is too soon to jump the gun."

"What do you mean?" Anna fierily shouted.

"What I am saying is that it was you who said that she should be able to show her worth," he explained calmly.

Her breath faltered for a moment. She was then painfully reminded that she had actually said such a thing. Actually she had only ever seen Karin as a halfhearted, starry-eyed idealist that would understand the futility of her strains the moment she was confronted with the heartless cruelty of an Awakened One and was able to explore her own limits and inabilities.

Suddenly she had to ask herself whether that was the case. Was Karin thinking? About who she was and what she can and cannot do?

Anna ground her teeth and averted her gaze. "But Lea…" she grunted sadly.

"Which brings me to my next point," Lorenz answered instantly. "You are saying that it is Karin's fault that Lea is dead. But isn't it more accurate to say that it is thanks to her that Lisa and you are still alive?"

Her hearth skipped two beats. _Don't… just don't… ask that one question_ , she pleaded inwardly.

"Would you say," the man in black continued, sure of his victory, without the slightest hint of mercy in his voice, "that any other possible combination of warriors of the Inner Ring would have been able to survive against Harun? Let alone defeat him?"

Without a word Anna arose, turned around and walked a few steps. Lorenz could see her clenched fists and the trembling going through her upper body and arms. At that moment he almost felt sorry for her.

Almost.

After a while he asked: "Well?"

Anna knew very well. And that asshole knew that she knew. He had found the only flaw in her logic with military precision and instantly at that. There was no combination of warriors from the Inner Ring that could have defeated that monster. None that did not contain Karin.

She did not want to answer his question, but knew that he would insist anyways.

"No," she whispered faintly.

"I understand," Lorenz answered as if he had not expected that. "So, wasn't it, like, your good fortune that she was part of your group?"

"I'm not answering that," Anna answered with a lump in her throat.

"Please do," he insisted.

"I am not answering that!" she yelled while turning around and then intended to collar him.

Just before her hand reached him a blade appeared right before her eyes and she froze in shock. Next to her, seemingly out of thin air, another warrior had appeared, having her blade ready to slide horizontally through Anna's head should she do as much as twitch without her approval.

"Please get away from him," the other warrior whispered with a voice so could it made Anna's soul freeze.

Shakily she stumbled back, dropped onto her rear and struggled for breath. Out of halfway opened eyes the warrior unknown to her looked at her as if she was a dying Yoma begging for mercy. That single gaze made her feel like trash.

The warrior sheathed her claymore and placed herself a little behind Lorenz who gave her a slight nod before focusing on Anna again. "This is Ayame, the current number two of the Organization. You might know her as _the Shadow_. As you might have noticed her Yoki is completely suppressed. Not even our number one, who has the best senses amongst our warriors, is unable to detect her. Therefore Karin can't, either."

Anna's hearth had calmed down a little. She then noticed that is was just as Lorenz had told: not the smallest quantum of Yoki was to be sensed from the warrior that still seemed to spread a distinctive, inner cold.

"Starting today she will follow Karin's every movement and make sure that she abides the rules. After all, you have failed to notice anything while monitoring her, if I recall correctly."

Anna's face darkened.

"What if she doesn't change?" she asked.

Lorenz did nothing to react but smile widely. "Be on your way now, Ayame," he said.

"Yessir!" she answered and then her figure faded away like a shadow being swallowed by the sun.

"And you dry your teary face, Anna," Lorenz said while turning around and preparing to leave. "It's unsightly."

###

As Karin left the forest she could see a small settling in front of her. Jonas' Yoki definitely came from within it. _Probably_ , she thought, _he did not want to sleep in the open again and has decided to come here instead_.

She was looking forward to meeting him, because he was the one giving her the strength to believe in her ideals even in rough times. Amongst all the Yoma she had ever had closer contact with he was the most human one. She knew it would give her courage again, if she met up with him.

The settling was indeed small. In fact there only were three houses, a narrow street and a well. There were, however, some construction sites were houses were being built. Still, nobody was working there at that time for it was still early in the morning and the sun had still to rise. Only a thin, bright band was to be seen in the northern sky, directly above the horizon, that was slowly getting wider.

As she entered the settling it was still quiet. There were no sounds to be heard from the houses. Nobody was getting up, doing their morning wash or preparing breakfast. No light was on the streets or in the windows.

Inside of a building that had "Plateau" written in big capital letters above its entrance she could feel Jonas' Yoki. The door was not locked, so she opened it and stepped in – and an all too familiar smell filled her nostrils.

"Please, no!" she whispered warily and hastened her pace. On the bar of the small inn she could see the crimson color of fresh blood. Instinctively she took a look behind it and discovered the corpse of a man whose guts had been eaten.

"Please, no!" she whispered again and hurried up the stairs. In the corridor of the upper floor two other corpses were lying in pools of blood, having all their intestines missing. Out of the room on the end of the corridor that had its door standing open she could hear sounds that forced horrific memories into her mind.

As if she was in trance she staggered through the corridor, towards the room the disgusting noises were originating from. Noises she had heard ten years before. Flesh being torn. Moist, slimy organs bumping into each other. Blood dripping onto the floor. The smacking and gobbling of the Yoma. Her mind had been sent back to the time when she had lost everything important to her.

She stepped into the doorway, frightened, shaking, her hands clutching the handle of her weapon. Instead of Jonas she saw her Yoma-turned brother, sitting in the intestines of her mother, crying, while still munching on them. She ran towards him and swung her blade.

Jonas had noticed Karin entering the room. Though he did not intend to he jumped away in the last moment to avoid being beheaded. The two and a half meter high Yoma planted himself at the other side of the room. His face was wet from his tears for he did not want to do what he had been doing.

Before he could say anything he could see the floor beneath Karin crumble. Almost simultaneously he was, under the cracking and splintering noises of wood, pushed right through the wall behind him, was sent flying for about twenty meters and then landed on the grass somewhere outside the settling.

Laboriously he picked himself up. That much he had expected. Karin would not give him a third chance. And he didn't want it. He was tired of fighting the Yoma within him.

Karin let herself drop from the hole she had made into the wall and landed on all fours. While slowly getting up she was pressing her left heel of hand against her forehead.

"Curses. Jonas," she hissed, "why, of all people… do you have to do that to me?"

Resolutely she wiped her past memories out of her mind. She didn't need them. Not in that situation. Not at all.

"I am sorry," the Yoma's guttural voice said honestly. "I really tried. But with every day that passed… the urge grew. Yes, I really hoped that I could do it. For you. But deep down inside I always knew… that today… was bound to come."

"That should not have happened," she said with a faltering voice and then slumped to all fours.

Her whole world view collapsed like a house of cards. Not even her Jonas could live without murdering people!

It was futile. She had seen the evidence for all her life. Her brother had become a Yoma and killed her family. She had killed her brother. The Yoma had killed. Her comrades had killed. She had killed. Over and over… and over again.

It would not stop.

It would never stop.

Blowing up dust she charged forwards and, without looking at him, impaled his chest with her claymore. Then, by performing a powerful slash upward she split his neck and head in half vertically, directly following up with a horizontal slash severing the both halves of his head from his body.

Without hesitation and without regarding the corpse of the Yoma that had become a close friend of hers she turned around and walked away.

###

After minutes of walking into no particular direction she suddenly stopped in her tracks. She stuck her claymore that was still stained with her friend's blood into the ground and dropped to one knee.

She was breathing heavily. Her mind was blank. She felt nothing.

She inhaled deeply and screamed as loud and long as she could.

Again.

Again.

And again.

Many times again.

But she wouldn't get angry.

She wouldn't cry.

She couldn't think.

She did not understand… that something inside of her had broken.

.

.

.

Forever.

###

It was almost noon as Lorenz was still waiting next to the small lake in the forest below the Attaja-plateau. He had been waiting there for two hours already, having prepared a new uniform and a stern reproof for her. But she was nowhere to be found.

But he was not worried. He had, after all, sent out Ayame to stick to her. And if Karin would have been to wander off too far she would have told him right away.

Out of boredom he had begin to muse what Karin might have been thinking at that time. He was convinced that she had figured out the kind of trouble she was in. For a moment he amusedly thought that she might have run away. For a few months she might actually have been able to hide from the Organization.

But not for much longer. The Organization had all means to find her – and if they had have to send Vectra. And, since Karin was one of the more clever warriors, she would have known that running away would not have gotten her anywhere. Also, the grass was widespreadly tramped down, so somebody had been there not long before. And apart from warriors nobody would be out in the wild that far.

 _Still_ , he wondered, _where is that idiot?_

Just as Lorenz was asking himself that question, Ayame appeared next to him. "She's coming," she said and disappeared again.

Not a moment too early, as Karin was just stepping out of the woods. Instantly she spotted Lorenz who was placidly standing there, waiting for her. Reminded of her situation but strangely enough to her not being bothered by it at all she stepped towards him, as Lorenz threw a new set of clothes right in front of her feet.

Upon seeing that Karin was merely regarding them he said: "I did expect that your uniform would be in a bad shape after facing off with a formidable enemy like that. But to think you would be walking around stark-naked is a little surprise. And where did your armor go?"

"Molten," she replied tautly, stuck her claymore into the ground and began to dress.

Lorenz stumbled. "Molten?" he asked in disbelief.

"Indeed," Karin said, "like ice in the sun. The burns were looking rather bad."

He scratched his bald head and sighed. "Why not tell me the whole story?"

"Why?" she asked after having dressed, while putting her Claymore beneath one of the leather straps on her back, its purpose usually being to attach the sheath for her claymore. "Did Anna not jawbone about me yet?" she asked with a scornful undercurrent.

Lorenz chuckled. "Up to date as always." Becoming more serious he added: "Yes, Anna in detail told me about all the ordure Lisa was able to dig up in your Yoki. I would just like to hear what you have got to say in your defense."

"I plead guilty," Karin deadpanned.

Her handler had to sigh again. "You should be glad that there lies quite some potential within you, you know, idiot? Each and every other warrior in your position would be beheaded right away."

"Probably," Karin answered without the slightest hint of expression in her face and voice. "You are not going to do it to me, then?"

Lorenz clicked his tongue. That girl's attitude would one day take his last nerve away.

"You are going to the region next to Anna's, region twenty-two. There are plenty of Yoma there for you to kill. Just kill whatever Yoma you find. And be aware, Karin" – his voice became menacing – "you only get so many chances in life. And now get going, idiot!"

Halfheartedly saluting Karin mockingly said: "Sir, yessir!"

Then she got going.

Lorenz watched her leave and after a while whispered: "Also, Karin, there is a shadow hanging above you. You better take this seriously… or else it will devour you."

* * *

I hope you all liked it.

Next time Karin and a comrade will clash. Please look forward to it!

Expect it to be in early October.


	6. Settling a score

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Claymore. I own the OCs and the story I wrote.

No matter how well you speak a foreign language, translating to it from your native one is quite a task.

Enjoy!

* * *

 **006 – Settling a score**

The cobbles shattered as the Yoma's extending claws crashed into it. While he was still wondering where his enemy had gone a horizontal slash was cutting right through his torso, bisecting it at the height of his hearth, and both parts of his body dropped to the ground like two sacks of potatoes, making dead sounds.

Curses were yelled by the other Yoma who still desperately tried to get a hold of the warrior, but all of their attacks were either dodged or parried by their opponent. Without them being able to keep track of how and why, their bodies, one after another and piece by piece got dismantled by a blade so fast it was invisible to them.

As all his fellow Yoma had been killed the last one decided to run for it. He turned around to see that the warrior was not following him and so he rejoicingly thought that he would make it. However, all of a sudden, without warning the muscles in his legs began to move uncontrollably, exerting a force so great that they broke his own legs like matchsticks and even tore themselves apart.

He sprawled and cursed loudly but instantly quieted down as he could hear the metal boots of the warrior walking over the cobbles. Turning around he could see his completely crushed legs and, at the other end of the street, he could see the woman that must have had done that to him, approaching him in a menacingly leisurely manner.

"Damn it," he stammered and tried to crawl away using only his hands, regularly looking back to see what his opponent was doing. The last thing he saw were pieces of cobblestone being blast out of the street in the same place the woman had been in just a moment before. Then, for but a moment, he could feel a heavy pressure in his head – right before it burst and spread its contents over the street.

"She treaded down his head," a boy that was peeking through a half open doorway whispered in awe, before his mother dragged the protesting boy back in and locked the door.

Addressing nobody in particular the warrior whispered: "Not a nice way to solve the problem, but sadly the only one that works."

As the village chief, together with some of his men, was approaching her, also the first villagers began to warily leave their houses. In shock they were staring at twelve dead Yoma in total, most of them lying on the market place. The village chief began to sweat, thinking about how much that would yet again cost, yet still thanked the tall warrior for her efforts.

"However," he complained, "you are two months later than it had been agreed on. During that time thirty-two people have died, you know? Considering the circumstances, asking for the whole amount…"

"Talk about that with the man dressed in black that will come collect the fee," the warrior said and, ignoring the village chief's complaints, set off. It was of neither her business nor her interest whether or not the people paid. She had come to kill the Yoma present. Nobody had ever told her about a deadline, either.

Upon arriving in region 22 three months before she had been told that it was up to her to choose her targets. She had been finding it strange in the beginning, but had soon understood why that was: out of the roughly 180 villages, towns and cities roughly two thirds had permanently Yoma hiding there, usually three or more.

The flood of requests from that region had been too much to handle for the Organization and hence the people of region 22 and the Organization had come to an agreement. According to that agreement, as long as it was necessary, each settling, regardless of size or location, had to be cleaned off of Yoma once a year. Only in emergencies – that would be five or more Yoma hiding there – the Organization would actually accept requests. In other cases the places had to make do with the yearly cleansing.

 _And obviously_ , Karin thought, _there is some kind of schedule I don't know about_. She decided to ask Lorenz about it on the next occasion.

Region 22 had been requiring getting used to to her. Not only was the area swarming with Yoma, regardless of how many she killed their numbers just would not decrease. Also, she would not receive specific missions, but it was expected of her to travel from town to town and kill whatever Yoma were there. Lorenz just dropped by once a month to see if things were going the way he expected them to.

At the beginning she had had trouble. She had been able to put the idea of curing Yoma from their desire to kill behind her after Jonas' relapse into murdering, admittedly, the emotional strain from killing, however, had stayed the same as before. Due to that she had only slowly been making progress during the first few weeks.

At that point, after three months and roughly 200 killed Yoma, that had changed. By then she was doing her job flawlessly and efficiently – and without feeling anything negative by doing so. Lorenz had made sure to regularly pester her about it. To him it seemed as if she had finally become a true warrior.

One habit she had not been able to unlearn: the urge to monitor everything around her closely and thoroughly. After all, that habit had saved her life more than once before. At any given time she knew exactly how many Yoma there were in her region, where they were, where they came from and where they went.

So she had noticed that the vast majority of Yoma entering the region came directly from the Center. Generally she had been wondering about where all those Yoma actually came from. After all, thousands of them were killed every year and still, so it seemed, for every Yoma killed two new ones appeared. She had been imagining how there probably was something like a huge nest in the Center where Yoma were literally pouring from, being held in check by the warriors there so the Inner and Outer Rings could handle the rest. _If we could destroy that nest, then…_ she often thought.

But "then" was far away. Had it been as simple as it sounded in her mind it had been taken care of long before. Still, she had decided to become stronger so she would eventually be promoted to a Center region and take a look at things there herself. And since she especially wanted to train her body all those Yoma couldn't have come at a better time.

They were simple opponents she was able to defeat without Yoki or Yoki Manipulation. She had already gotten to the point where she could take on several Yoma at once without as much as breaking a sweat, as she was proving to herself and the Yoma every one to two days. Soon, of that she was certain, Yoma would not help her grow anymore and she would have to fight Awakened Beings.

As of then she had, however, not encountered an Awakened Being in region 22 and, assuming she could trust her senses on that, there also was none. That was yet another topic that she would have to discuss with Lorenz on the next occasion.

###

Some kilometers away from Karin Ayame was sitting on the branch of a tree, staring into space. Ever since Lorenz had tasked her with following the "Yoma-loving idiot", as he had called her, nothing even remotely interesting had happened. She had not let a single Yoma get away. She had not incinerated things. She had not killed any seemingly overpowered Awakened Beings.

Like a storybook hybrid she was traipsing from town to town and chopped up Yoma. And as finely diced as she found the corpses from time to time she could absolutely not imagine Karin actually having had friends amongst the Yoma.

At that time she was by far the most boring warrior the Organization had.

And still Ayame stayed attentive. Karin's Yoki could set things aflame and it did lure out weak Awakened Beings who would willingly let themselves be killed afterwards. Her fights against Ariane and Harun had shown that. And both traits were unique on Test Facility 4. _Maybe in the world_ , she mused. But to her it was obvious that mowing down endless hordes of Yoma would never make Karin release her Yoki.

It was her duty to make sure Karin was following the rules, but, during the three months she had been there, there had never been a need for her to interfere.

In her opinion it was time to send Karin to the Center where girls of her abilities belonged. After all, Lady Astarte wanted to challenge and advance Karin Lanzelot's talents and hence Lorenz would have no choice but to agree to having her take the next step if Ayame would advise him to do so.

The Organization's number two took notice as Karin's Yoki disappeared out of her detection range. She sighed, got up and began to close up to her again.

Karin had become able to suppress her Yoki so well that Ayame had to stay within five kilometers of her in order to not lose track. Obviously she had just finished a mission and was already heading to the next one.

"Well," Ayame said to herself, "at least you're keeping me busy."

###

While Karin was on her way to her next destination – it was just half a day's journey – she noticed her follower setting in motion, too. _Always on your guard_ , she thought.

A few weeks before, while she had been scanning her region with her inner eye, she had noticed her Yoki not spreading like it should in one place. At first she had been unsure about the reason for it, but during her time as a warrior she had learned that there could only be one Yoki within a body at the same time. Since she could sense that irregularity with Yoma, whose Yoki she could sense, too, she had decided to keep an eye on the disturbance from where she could not sense Yoki. And just as she had thought that spot was sporadically following her, whenever the distance between her and it grew longer than about five kilometers.

After all that time she still had someone to watch her behavior. That was yet another thing she would be giving Lorenz a piece of her mind about.

###

Anna was trekking at a joyful pace on the provisional seeming road leading to the destination of her latest mission. After quite some time she had gotten a mission merely involving a bunch of Yoma again.

During the months before she had almost exclusively led Awakened Being Hunting Parties in the Inner Ring and taken part in two hunts in the Center. For although she wasn't believed to persist in the Center permanently for she expected perfection of others as she did of herself which had often led to quarrels with comrades – so she had hated the former number 30, Sarah, for she would often ignore orders and do things her own way anyways (and had, more than once, eaten the last piece of her favorite gooseberry pie) – the Organization readily used her against Awakened Beings that could fly or had their vitals in a place difficult to reach for earthbound warriors. Also, in the Inner Ring, she was undoubtedly and by far the most powerful warrior and hence led three out of four Awakened Being hunts there.

Thus she was glad to, for once, be able to enjoy a nice, simple hunt on some Yoma all by herself.

Not that she disliked the company of her fellow warriors, that was not the case at all. On the contrary she enjoyed being amongst her kind. However, once every while it was nice to get away from all the hubbub a bunch of silver eyed girls was sure to create and to focus on the simple things life had to offer: chopping up a Yoma so neatly that one could paint an averagely sized marketplace with its components.

And since she was looking forward to it so much it irritated her a little as one of her targets suddenly vanished from her inner vision. Without as much of a thought she began rushing towards her destination, carried by the wind created by her Yoki, to see what was happening to her Yoma.

Another one disappeared.

Noticed by the guards of the town as nothing but a gust of wind she passed them, went along some streets and finally reached the marketplace where the remaining four Yoma were. Upon arrival there she could see what was happening, or rather, who: Karin was there. That time, however, she did not hide the Yoma from Anna's vision, she actually was killing them herself.

Number 21 regarded how Karin was zigzagging around between the Yoma while nonchalantly chopping them down in the process. Here there went claws flying, there arms, some legs and last but not least heads.

She was mad. Mad that Karin had taken her prey away, surely. But even more so she recognized the way Karin was moving during the battle: she was not taking one step at a time, like most warriors did it. She was moving using quick, low-slung jumps that, to inexperienced eyes, were looking like she was just running very fast – just as Lea had always done it.

Anna's expression darkened. So she was still alive. She had gotten another chance and made use of it. She had been promoted to the infamous region 22 and was spending there all day mincing Yoma. And she even had the brass to come to her region, region 21, since her own Yoma apparently weren't enough to satisfy her. Anna imagined how proud the Organization must be of her Yoma-lover, that should have awakened or been killed months before and that had, obviously forgotten by anyone but her, killed Lea.

And when the time for Anna had finally come to get away from all those Awakened Beings, her comrades that always kept babbling heartily due to unalloyed joy and anything that was shitty in that world, when it had finally been her time to relax by carving up a bunch of Yoma, then that bitch had to show up and take that away from her, too?

It made her hair stand on end as she could feel the last Yoma vanish.

Swinging her blade Karin shook off the stinking Yoma blood of it and then sheathed it. She turned around to face Anna, who she had sensed a while before already, completely ignoring in what mental state the latter was, and wonderingly asked: "What are you doing here?"

A vein showed on Anna's forehead. "This is my region," she answered on edge.

Innocently Karin asked: "Are you sure? I think that town is part of my region," she countered confidently.

Her superior's fists clenched. "You surely got a mission here then, do you not?" she asked, trying not to snap.

"Ah," Karin realized, "you can not know that" – Anna's hearth was in her mouth – "but I rarely get missions. I just visit my region's towns once a year and kill whatever doesn't belong there."

Anna's blood pressure rose. _Talking as if you've been doing it for years!_ she thought furiously.

Under a lot of mental strain she was able to take a deep breath before she managed to ask: "If this town belongs to your region, why would I have a mission here?"

Karin thought about it for a moment. She had been doing things as always, just going to the nearest town with Yoma after cleansing one. Presumably she had accidentally ended up in a town that was just behind the borders of her own region and hence was already part of Anna's territory.

 _Whoops._

That could, however, not be the reason for Anna to seem that mad. It had to be something else. After all, and that was what Karin thought, no one would be mad to have their workload eased.

She did not quite understand what had gotten into her comrade. She found her attitude and behavior pretty rude, to say the least, and found herself getting a little mad, too. So Karin, master of interpersonal relations, decided to give in to the urge of using the most promising way to find out the source of Anna's foul mood: open mouth, insert food.

In perfectly flawless blatancy she assumed: "You must have the wrong town."

Anna's jaw dropped and for a moment she was baffled, unable to say something.

It took her a while.

So that Yoma-lover was asking for trouble? That she could have!

"Follow me!" she spat and set off.

Triumphantly so, Karin nodded slightly and began to follow her. _Now let us see where your troubles lie, Anna_ , she thought resolutely.

###

Apart from the town, roughly two kilometers away, the both of them were standing on a wide meadow, some meters away from each other. Karin was well aware that she had pissed Anna off, thoroughly so. She knew that Anna resented her for what had happened to Lea. And she thought that it was Anna's good right to do so, after all it had been her fault.

But the both of them were, for better or for worse, comrades. There was no space for bottled-up aggressions.

Anna would want to tear her apart. And she herself needed an opponent she could go all out at. Anna would be able to let off steam and she could train. _Two birds with one stone_ , she thought.

Anna hated that woman from the bottom of her hearth. After everything that had happened she had been forgiven. And even though she should be utterly happy to be still alive, even though she should be well aware of how Anna thought of her, she still had the nerve to talk to her like that?

She would not forgive her.

"You look pale," Anna said tensely.

"We all do," Karin answered.

"Didn't sleep too well recently?" Anna asked.

"Indeed. And only a little," the tall warrior replied.

"Having remorse?" Anna chased the subject up.

Karin did not react. _Obviously I do!_ she thought grimly. Because of her a lot of humans and one of her comrades had been killed. And all of that had happened because she had been wrong, because she had been ignoring the signs of her being wrong for years. And, of course, she had overestimated herself in the fight with Harun. She was well aware of all those things. It was not for nothing that she had begun working on her abilities, after all.

Anna drew her blade and took her fighting stance. "Nice movement technique. One-to-one-copy of Lea's," she taunted.

Since Karin did not seem to know what she was talking about, number 21 explained: " _Lea the Turbulent_ got her name due to her special movement technique, the Turbulent Steps. That ability allowed her to cover battle relevant distances near the speed of sound while still remaining as agile as a hare. And even though what you are doing is barely a parody of her technique" – her face became stern and her voice menacing – "I am not going to forgive you. Not for killing her. Not for stealing her technique after doing so. Draw your blade!" she shouted.

 _As figured_ , Karin thought. It was about Lea. And obviously it was also about copying her ability.

Karin sighed inwardly. Though she understood why Anna might have felt the way she did she could not have cared less. If everything went well she would calm down after letting off steam anyways, so Karin saw no reason to bother herself with her motives. After all, she would get to fight a strong opponent. And with whoever following her it was good that Anna was the one demanding a duel and not her. She really had no need for any more trouble and scoldings by Lorenz.

So she drew her claymore, too.

"I am going to teach you, Karin, that, just because the old farts in black are willing to overlook your crimes, those you hurt won't automatically do so, too. On behalf of my comrade who you murdered I will make you pay for what you have done to her," she proclaimed pregnantly.

"Down to the last farthing."

Even before either of the opponents had moved a muscle Anna suppressed her Yoki to her best ability. She did not believe that it would completely protect her from Karin's Yoki Manipulation, but even so it would make it much harder for her to influence her movements. Though it would take away her own special ability, the manipulation of the air around her, she was convinced to be able to defeat her in a battle without Yoki.

She tensed the muscles in her legs, a signal for Karin that she would come at her, and then rushed towards her hated comrade. Her first strike that was aiming for Karin's left shoulder landed in a block by the latter. Instantly Anna noticed that the block was being pushed back by the sheer force of her own attack. She raised her claymore and, without lunging out much, almost instantly struck again, this time aiming for her right shoulder. Barely in time Karin managed to reposition her block and Anna's second strike was blocked, too. Surprisingly to the taller warrior the second strike hit significantly harder and so her block was pushed back so far that her blade was almost pushed into her own flesh.

That way Anna had their two blades locked for a while. The moment Karin thought to see a smirk on Anna's face the latter let herself fall into a crouch, leading to the built up pressure of the lock to release and have Karin's blade swing over the smaller warrior's head, hitting nothing. The very same moment Karin felt the tip of Anna's blade cut through the left side of her stomach, leaving a shallow cut of about ten centimeters in length.

Instinctively she leaped back using Lea's ability. She had not seen that one coming. Her opponent was suppressing her Yoki so well that she was only able to vaguely see her Yoki's flow. Due to that the first hit was Anna's, who was contently regarding the red tip of her blade.

Anna had no intention of giving her opponent time to breath. Instantly she began running towards her again and aimed, so Karin judged, for a vertical cut through her abdomen. Just an instant before Anna came in range Karin sensed an amount of Yoki in Anna's legs that was certainly unneeded for running at the speed she did. Snaplikely she raised her block just in time to hinder the leapt attack of Anna to cut her face in half and managed to parry it. Anna's leap directly sent her behind Karin, where she skillfully rolled into a crouch, just to rush towards her opponent again in a crouching manner. She wanted to make it look like she was aiming for her legs that time, intending to have Karin jump so she would be able to abort her feint, leap into the air and get her there.

It severely dumbfounded her as a metal heel hit her right into the face. Not falling for her feint Karin had kicked behind her on the turn, assuming that her reach would be slightly greater than Anna's due to her crouching dash – and was proven right.

Anna was sent flying a few meters and landed on her back, sliding over the grass for another two meters. While picking herself up she rubbed her right cheekbone. It surprised her how powerful a kick by someone as frail looking as Karin could be.

Getting both of her hands around her weapon's handle she prepared herself for the next strike.

Karin waited patiently for Anna to get back onto her feet. That time it had worked: She could still not read the flow of Anna's Yoki, but at least tell about how much Yoki was where in her body. Right before a Yoki-user would use a certain region of their body they would send Yoki there unconsciously. That way Karin was able to tell that Anna was preparing to jump and had no intentions of attacking her abdomen or legs. Unfortunately, though, she could not tell if Anna would stop using a certain region of her body since the Yoki would flow from there the very same time she relaxed the muscles. There is a signal initiating the relaxation of muscles, but due to Anna suppressing her Yoki as well as she did it was far too faint for Karin to notice. That was why she was not able to tell that time when Anna was about to let herself fall into a crouch.

She hoped, though, that Anna would be able to figure out what she was able to see and what not. Otherwise the fight would end without her having to get remotely serious.

Anna ground her teeth. Even though she was doing her best to suppress her Yoki her opponent could still tell what she was going to do even before she would set in motion. It was not looking good for her. Karin did not manipulate her, but as things were there did not seem to be a need for her to do it, anyways.

She then had two options: taking a suppressant to make her Yoki vanish to the point that even Karin could not see it anymore or release so much of it that she would not be able to manipulate her anymore. The former was too dangerous because Karin could then easily overpower her with her own Yoki. The latter was wishful thinking. Karin had, after all, been able to manipulate Harun's Yoki – and Anna's Yoki was not even close to his.

Three attacks that were connecting to each other surprisingly well considering it was Karin performing them Anna parried with ease. Some other attacks followed and neither gave Anna the feeling of actually fighting a warrior of the Inner Ring. Although Karin did not release any Yoki that she would have been able to sense it still was easy for her to predict the attacks of her by far slower opponent.

 _It is this easy!_ Anna suddenly realized. Karin was a defensive type – both in body and fighting style. She had specialized in finding or creating openings in her opponents attack patterns by skillfully defending. If it was Anna to be in the defensive, Karin would not be able to do anything about it, for she was too slow and too weak to break through it. As long as she stayed calm and focused on defending, the way less experienced Karin was bound to make a mistake, enabling Anna to get her then. Her mind had been clouded by the hatred for her opponent and this had led to her getting an embarrassing kick into her face. If she kept her hearth calm she would be able to get back at her, so she thought.

 _Oh well_ , Karin mused as she was rather inefficiently throwing strikes right into Anna's blocks and parries, _she did not notice what I had hoped her to, but this works, also. With things like this I will need to do something clever, too_.

Due to Anna's defensive behavior Karin was unable to find an opening. As she had figured beforehand she could not even scratch Anna in combat as long as she would not use Yoki or could manipulate hers. There was nothing to come out of that battle at that point.

She needed to use the Turbulent Steps. That would take her the last bit of sight she had on Anna's Yoki, but she knew that she would be able to get Anna to fight a little more enthusiastically – in other words make her use Yoki.

By sending a short, powerful Yoki impulse into her right leg, she, blowing up grass and dirt, leaped to the side and, within the blink of an eye repeated that with her left leg to get behind Anna, instantly dashing towards her to horizontally slash through her upper back. Almost surprised Anna twirled around to counter Karin's attack with a vertical strike of her own. When the blades clashed she did manage to parry Karin's attack, but to her utter surprise it was forceful enough to push her back and force her to make a step backwards.

Still in mid air, just before the first of her legs would touch the ground, she leapt away again and, after using the Turbulent Steps a few more times, leapt towards Anna again. This time Anna was more prepared and managed to parry the strike more easily. That, however, did not keep Karin from attacking like that several more times.

Just as Anna began to think that she would be able to do that all day if necessary and yet again blocked one of Karin's fierce attacks, she could yet again see Karin's feet get closer to the ground. She did expect her to leap away again and attack from another direction, however, Karin betrayed that expectation. Because, at that time, she did not leap away, but, while they were still pushing their blades against each other's, instead leapt right towards her.

Completely taken by surprise Anna was not able to prevent her own blade being pushed into her own flesh by Karin's force. And even though Anna wasn't toppled over by that attack, she did barely react, making Karin repeat the process, pushing her blade into her flesh even deeper.

"Fight back, blockhead!" Karin shouted as she was about to do the attack yet again.

As if she was waking up from a dream Anna suddenly unleashed her Yoki. Forcefully she pushed Karin back and sent her flying. Lashing winds were hitting the flying Karin like a storm of glass shards. She then, rolling over several times, landed roughly ten meters away from her opponent.

Anna had released enough Yoki to deform her face. She wanted to suppress it right away – only to notice that she couldn't. "Shit," she grumbled as realization struck her: she had been had by Karin. Now, that she had released Yoki, Karin would have an easy job of defeating her.

Karin got up, obviously not impressed by Anna's attack. She had suffered quite a few scratches, but those were closing right before Anna's eyes, just like the cut on her stomach and the one on her chest that she had gotten from her attack just then. Without a care in the world she was knocking off dust and earth of her uniform.

"That's it, Anna," Karin said leisurely, "you can't win anymore, so let us stop this now."

To her surprise a cut appeared on Karin's cheek. Right after that something as thin as a needle impaled her left upper arm.

"Interesting," Karin said acknowledgingly, "I can't control your Yoki the moment it is outside of your body."

Anna smiled widely. "True, I might not be able to fight you directly anymore," she explained, "but the wind is always on my side!"

Karin had not expected things to turn out that way. She dodged another invisible blade made of wind.

Even though she had successfully forced Anna into releasing her Yoki, enabling her to stop her from moving or suppressing it completely, but she could not do anything about Anna manipulating the air around her. Every bit of Yoki that left her body instantly was out of her control, but not out of Anna's control. That way Anna was able to unimpendedly throw the air at her like blades.

Doing so she wasn't exactly chary: she had released more than half of her Yoki and was bombarding Karin with every last bit of it. Indeed, it was easy for Karin to dodge most of them because, as it seemed, Anna had to decide on the trajectories of her blades of wind while they were still close to her body, but that did not really help Karin's cause for she assumed that this could have gone on forever. And considering how much Anna made her dash she would be the first one to run out of stamina.

Admittedly, if she could manage to get close to Anna the fight would be over. She was, however, thinking realistically enough to know that that was almost impossible. She had even pondered about copying Anna's technique, just like she had done it with Lea's Turbulent Steps, but due to the sheer endless numbers of projectiled Yoki flying around her she had not been able to focus on one for long enough to figure out what exactly Anna was doing.

Another option she had was to suppress Anna's Yoki again. But then she would again face the problem of not being able to defeat her in close combat without using her own Yoki. And since she had lost control over it the last time she had used it she really did not want to use it against her.

Also, she wanted to defeat Anna, not turn her into charcoal.

The "Skydancer" was genuinely impressed by her opponent. Despite her not even having released enough Yoki to turn her eyes golden she was able to avoid the vast majority of the projectiles that easily were as swift as arrows. Actually Anna found it impressing already that she had been forced to use them in the first place. Though they did not use much Yoki they put a real strain on her mind. She would not be able to do that for long – and she would not be able to defeat Karin with them, either.

That fact made her be disappointed by herself. She finally had gotten the chance to exact revenge on the killer of her best friend and yet she only had one thing up her sleeve that she could use – and that only one time. Additionally she had never before used it in actual combat and hence she had no way of telling if it would actually be of use against her opponent.

Still, it was her very last resort. There was no hesitating, not against that woman.

All of a sudden the wind projectiles stopped coming. Karin was surprised, yet she still used the welcomed break to take a few deep breaths, not letting Anna slip out of her focus.

Her superior's Yoki was nearing her limits. Interestedly she observed how the air around Anna began to rotate. While doing so the wind became faster and, so it seemed, denser. Despite her being around 20 meters away from Anna the gusts made it hard for her to stand steady in one place.

 _Just what are you plotting?_ Karin asked herself, seeing how all of Anna's Yoki was rotating around her in a sphere of about three meters in diameter.

As that continued Karin grew more uneasy by the minute. She could not sense Anna anymore and hence not control her. And, in addition to that, the Yoki of Anna became so dense that it almost rivaled her own.

And slowly but steadily the surface of the sphere begun to become unsteady.

###

"Shit," Ayame cursed while she was moving through the undergrowth of the forest, following the tracks left by Karin.

Before, as Karin had taken a rest, she had decided to take a nap – which had turned out to be several hours instead of a few minutes. Upon waking up Karin's Yoki hadn't been in her detection range anymore. And had it not been for another Yoki startling her she would still be sleeping.

The last place she had sensed Karin at was close to the borders between region 22 and 21. And since the Yoki that had woken her up had been Anna's and since she knew how little Anna liked Karin, all she had to do was to put two and two together to figure out that Anna was probably fighting Karin Lanzelot at that very moment.

There was no way she could let that happen.

Anna was a perfectionist, a fierce and stubborn fighter, especially when she held a grudge. And Ayame knew all too well how much of a grudge Anna held towards Karin.

And yet she was not even all that worried about Karin, but Anna.

Karin was still believed to be someone who detested killing above anything else. However, during the three months before she had unwaveringly killed Yoma after Yoma despite the Organization, especially Lorenz, seeing her as someone who was a friend of them.

Ayame did not know of Jonas and what had happened before Karin came to region 22, so she assumed that it was due to her near-Awakening experience that her mind had changed about killing. She also had no idea how much Lea's death haunted Karin. So she assumed that, if she had to, Karin would dispose of Anna without a second thought. As long as Ayame was concerned she could go and do it for all she cared, but, despite her serious flaws, the Organization still thought rather highly of "Skydancer Anna". Would Karin kill her that would only mean loads of unnecessary trouble.

Eventually Ayame reached a wide meadow. _Finally_ , she thought, _I can move at a good pace_.

Whatever was happening between Karin and Anna, she would end it the instant she arrived there. Obviously her mission to secretly follow Karin around and monitor her would have failed then, but she really did not see a reason to stick to her at all times anymore, anyways – despite the current situation making her doubt her own thoughts a little. But that was an issue she would address when the time was right.

###

Using a dirty apron the mature looking woman was cleaning her face, leaving crimson stains on it. She stood in the middle of a road that was filled with corpses whose intestines had been eaten. Without restraint she burped and then threw the apron next to the corpse of the woman she had gotten it from.

"You really do have no manners, Vanessa," a girl, apparently in her teens, that had just arrived said.

"Sorry 'bout that, Neerie," Vanessa answered. "Are there seconds?" she asked.

"I apologize, but I was hungry, too, so there is nothing left in this village," she said sympathetically.

The distinctively taller Vanessa stretched and cracked with her neck a few times. "Th'ain't what I mean, silly. 'Bout twenty kilometers to the north two chicks be fightin'."

Neerie unerringly turned towards the south and was scanning the area with her inner eye. As she only could find a few Yoma there she pouted: "There is nothing, Nessie. Are you teasing me?"

The taller one went over to her comrade, grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around. "There, silly!" she said with played irritation, chuckling a little.

The younger one took a look again. "Oh!" she said suddenly upon detecting the whirling Yoki of a warrior. "That looks like they are enjoying themselves!" She then turned her gaze towards Vanessa and playfully asked: "Shall we go and see?"

Determinedly nodding she answered: "Gonna be more fun than rottin' with the leftovers."

Over the rooftops of the erased village the two Awakened Beings set off to see up close what the two Organization's warriors were doing in the north. And if it would look interesting enough, so they decided, they might join the fun as well.

###

Karin was still regarding Anna's twirling Yoki in wariness and awe. After Anna had begun preparing whatever she was going to do a minute before, the Yoki had taken up rotation speed as well as density constantly. She was already preparing herself for whatever it was that would happen when Anna finally unleashed her attack. Her mind was keeping track of every bit of her Yoki, its position and its speed.

Suddenly the sphere began to lose its shape. The surface seemed to be about to break open at any moment and the winds surrounding it had gotten so forceful that they were swaying Karin like a ship in a storm at sea.

Then it started. In all directions countless blades of wind were fired almost simultaneously, flying at a pace that made it impossible for Karin to escape them, even with the Turbulent Steps. Several ten of the projectiles hit her in all kind of places, but the damage they caused was not as impressive as Karin had feared.

However, as she thought that it was over, a focused stream of uncountable blades of wind was fired directly at her. It was at that instant that she realized that she could not get away and that she would not survive being hit by that.

Without her deciding to do it the skin on her back tore open and, completely destroying the fitting for her blade and tearing apart the uniform on her lower back, the black strands that had killed Lea emerged and formed a thick shield in front of her, absorbing every last of the projectiles. Before grasping the situation Karin went unconscious.

After a while the attack was over. It was just as the dust had set that Ayame arrived. The first thing she noticed was Karin, out of whose back thousands of thin, black strands had emerged that were menacingly hovering above and in front of her.

Karin slowly turned her head around and Ayame froze in deep shock upon the bright red gleaming of pupil-less eyes met her gaze.

"I am so utterly… disappointed in you," thousands of voices echoed out of Karin's mouth.

* * *

As always, I hope you all liked it.

Next time we will get to know about those red eyes - and how their appearance will affect Karin's future. Look forward to it!

Chapter 7 to be expected early in the second half of October.


	7. Ambush

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Claymore. I own the OCs and the story I wrote.

A little earlier than expected.

Enjoy!

* * *

 **007 – Ambush**

Ayame had frozen in fear. All of a sudden Karin's Yoki had vanished and been replaced by the surreally enormous Yoki of Lady Stella Astarte. Also, the thousands of voices she had heard and her fierce gaze that felt like it was eating her life force away seemed to be proof of Stella Astarte's presence.

But she could not make anything of the situation at hand. How could she be there, apparently in Karin's body at that? And why would she? Ayame knew that Karin held some kind of potential that made her very important to Lady Astarte. However, it was also important to her to keep her identity a secret, but then, so Ayame thought, even the biggest sensory cripple would be able to detect that Yoki within hundreds of kilometers and beings with sharper senses would be able to do it from even farther away.

She gulped. Though she could not tell how Lady Astarte had entered the battlefield, terrible premonitions where beginning to fill her mind. For a moment she thought of drawing her blade to prepare for the worst, but she instantly discarded that thought knowing against an entity of such power it would not help her anyways. All she could do was stand still in fear and hope that somehow, someone would save her.

Anna stood amidst an area of plowed up soil. She was leaning on her claymore which she had impaled into the ground. The massive number of blades of wind she had created had severely wounded her, too. Cuts that were heavily bleeding were all over her body. None of them were deep, but the number made them dangerous.

Thus, she had still released about three quarters of her Yoki in order to generate them as soon as possible. The pain, the blood loss and her Yoki were blurring her senses so much that she was unable to sense the huge Yoki that had appeared from within Karin. In addition her sight was impaired by blood that had flown into them from cuts on her forehead, making it impossible for her to see anything farther than five meters away. She had to blink several dozen times to get her vision clear enough to see what was going on around her.

Breathing heavily she took a look around: the plowed up soil around her was stained with a lot of her own blood, so much one would wonder how she was still able to stand. Her gaze followed a drill that had been left by her attack. At the end of said drill there stood Karin.

Anna dropped to her knees. She did neither notice how her eyes were gleaming in a fiery red nor did she contemplate the meaning of the thousands of black muscle strands having grown out of her back again. All she was able to become aware of was how Karin was still alive.

"This can't be…" she mumbled absentmindedly. She had mustered and exerted all her abilities, released all the Yoki that she could and she had released a tirade of an attack that even the highest ranking warriors would not have wanted to be hit by. She had brought her body and mind to their limits and risked both in the process, _And yet_ , she thought, _despite all the things you have done, despite all my efforts…_

"Why are you alive?" she madly yelled.

She began to lose her connection to reality. Images were beginning to haunt her mind like ghosts. Images of Karin, as death incarnate, marching through the lands, slaughtering whoever she found, followed by an army of Yoma and Awakened Beings feasting on her victims.

Anemic, severely hurt and mentally broken how she was she did not even realize that she had passed her limits. Psychotically screaming she grabbed her claymore and rushed towards Karin. The sole attack she was able to carry out was stopped by a bunch of Karin's black strands that were winding around her claymore like snakes and then forcefully prying it out of her hands. Unwaveringly Anna ignored it and was aiming to tear Karin apart with the claws her fingers had become and Ayame, who could only watch as if under a spell, had already written her off as Karin smoothly pushed herself between Anna's claws and then hugged her tightly.

"What the…" Ayame mumbled in confusion. She instantly understood that there was no way in hell that Lady Astarte had done that. Yet, her Yoki was still present. _Did… Karin?_ she wondered puzzledly.

Taken aback for a moment, Anna angrily shoved her claws into Karin's torso. She tried to break free from her embrace, digging her claws deeper and deeper into her opponent's flesh, but was unable to.

"What is the meaning of this?" Anna fiercely hissed with a voice closer to a Yoma's than a human's. "Let go!"

The taller warrior's hug became even tighter. Anna struggled all she could, but she didn't manage to break free. Her mind was running amok, imagining all kinds of ways she wanted to kill Karin in, and that she was not able to get away from her drove her even madder.

"I am sorry," thousands of voices were suddenly echoing over the battlefield, almost instantly making Anna stop fighting back. For reasons she did not understand her furious anger began to vanish, gradually being replaced by sadness and pain.

Tears began to run down Anna's face in streams. She sobbed: "Why… are you saying that now?"

"Because it is about time I do," her countless voices where gently whispering. "Unfortunately, that is all I can do."

"You killed Lea!" Anna whimpered loudly. Her claws slipped free from the wounds they had caused to Karin and her body became limp, making her fall into Karin's embrace.

"Yes, I did," she answered with the softest of voices, "and it can never be undone. But you must believe me, Anna," – she ended the embrace, held her shoulders and looked into her eyes with a gaze filled with sadness and regret – "that is was never my intention."

Anna dropped to her knees and began to cry heavily. Karin kneeled next to her and embraced her again, giving her all the comfort she could.

Ayame had lost track of what was happening. Within moments Karin had somehow managed to overcome Lady Astarte's control as well as to make the justifiably furious Anna calm down. Also, bit by bit Anna's Yoki was being suppressed until the point it was almost imperceptible.

While that happened Lady Astarte's Yoki was gradually fading away, too, and the black strands that had emerged from Karin's back were slowly growing back. For a last time the gaze of the gleaming red eyes hit Ayame's, expressing utter dissatisfaction. And then Stella Astarte's Yoki vanished and the gleaming red color disappeared from Karin's eyes.

###

While the battle between Karin and Anna was still going on Vanessa suddenly stopped in her tracks, almost making her younger comrade Neerie bump into her.

"What are you doing, Nessie?" she complained.

Ignoring Neerie Vanessa mumbled in disbelief: "The hell's that?"

The Yoki of one of the girls fighting in the north had suddenly vanished and been replaced by something so enormous she was not even sure it could still be called mere Yoki. It felt like she suddenly had been wrapped by thick mist giving her a feeling of wanting to turn around, run and never stop running, hoping _it_ would never catch up and devour her alive.

What Vanessa was able to sense in the north wasn't just huge and menacing. It was devoid of any describability – and she, as the former number 4, had seen quite a lot of things already.

Neerie was pinching her arm to get her attention. Absentmindedly her comrade looked at her.

"I'm talking to you," she said worriedly, "but you're not reacting! That's a little scary, seeing you like this, you know?"

Vanessa forced a smile onto her face and gently patted Neerie's head. "Sorry 'bout that," she answered, "but this Yoki had me shocked for a moment."

Neerie blinked a few times in confusion. "What Yoki?" she asked innocently.

A moment of silence followed.

A pretty long one.

"Y'ain't sensing that?" Vanessa asked flabbergastedly.

Irritatedly Neerie shook her head.

The mature woman grabbed her comrade's back of the head with one hand, directed it towards the Yoki in the north, pointed at it with her other hand and then ranted bewilderedly: "This one! The huge, enormous, colossal, outclassin' everythin', Olaf's-a-joke-compared, not-even-y'can-miss-it-Yoki I mean!"

Neerie deadpanned: "No."

Vanessa hid her face behind her hands and sighed in defeat. "What's it y'got in your head to not see that? Pebbles?"

"Well I am sorry," Neerie get het up, "that I can't sense all kinds of Yoki like madam super-great!"

The older Awakened One grabbed her comrade on the backside of her collar and, moving south again, dragged her along. Neerie enjoyed that so much she relaxed and let herself be dragged along like a bag of potatoes.

"Honestly now," Vanessa said, "one of the girls just now released a Yoki larger than I've ever seen. Beats me how, but if we got to close she'd obliterate us with a snap of her fingers."

Wile still being dragged along Neerie laid one of her arms across her chest and put the clenched fist of the other beneath her chin before she musingly said: "This is a serious issue. If somebody that powerful is allowed to roam freely that will sooner or later be the end for us. I mean, if it was Olaf to pick a fight with us we'd be about evenly matched, but someone like that would be a pain in the ass. Up until now the three powers, Olaf, us and the Organization – mainly talking about Risa here – were evenly powerful. But if the Organization now got someone like that…"

"I'd'n't bet on her being with the old-man's-association," Vanessa interposed.

"Why?" Neerie asked.

"It's originatin' from a warrior, but definitely ain't a warrior's Yoki. Wouldn't say it's an Awakened One's, either, but much closer to that. And it is gone. Why's it gone?" she wondered, instantly stopped in her tracks and let Neerie drop to the ground. She faced north and tried to detect the Yoki she had sensed before – but where the battle had taken place no Yoki was to be sensed.

Not caring about the fact she was lying on her back in the slightest Neerie asked: "What do we do now?"

Without a second thought Vanessa answered: "We find the girl it came from and what she's up to. I want to know about someone like that walking around on our turf."

Neerie stood up and climbed onto Vanessa's back.

"The fuck y'doin'?" Vanessa asked.

"A piggyback-ride, isn't that obvious?" the younger one answered.

Vanessa gave up. A discussion would lead to nothing and so she just acquiesced in carrying her comrade.

So the both of them began heading north again in order to observe the warrior that held a power able to completely rearrange the balance of power on the continent.

###

Tensely Lisa sat on a fallen tree. She had had to sit down upon sensing an unprecedentedly huge Yoki – and seeing visions of its owner's past.

"If all of that is true…" she mumbled in fascination and shock withal, "everything we know… no… thought to know… is but a lie…"

###

Karin was sleeping peacefully next to the campfire Ayame and Anna had ignited. After Karin had lost consciousness after the battle with Anna the both of them had carried her into the forest so she could rest.

During that time Anna had barely said anything. There had been and still was a lot she had to think about. All the time she had made Karin responsible for Lea's death. She had hated her for it and wished for nothing more than her to vanish. But the moment Karin had apologized to her on the battlefield, all those negative thoughts and emotions had suddenly vanished, as if being driven out by a force from the outside. And at that time she had understood that she had been wrong.

After having taken her time to think about the whole situation she had come to the conclusion that it had been Lea's decision alone to approach the awakening Karin back then. She had remembered how Lea had explained her behavior in that situation. Lea had wanted nothing but to repay a debt she had felt she had owed her. She had walked into death without regret.

Finally being able to be honest with herself Anna had realized that she had known all this all along. She had merely been in denial of the fact that it had been Lea's choice to leave her and so she had wanted to push the responsibility of her death onto someone else.

But that was not the only thing on her mind at that time. During her battle she had breached her limits – and returned. And even if she vaguely remembered the details of what was going on she was well aware that she had not been in a state to return on her own.

Her thoughtful gaze wandered to her sleeping comrade. No matter how she looked at it, only Karin could have brought her back in that situation. However, that realization was also filling her with doubt again. Through Lisa she had come to know that Karin had copied Harun's Emotional Control in order to defeat him. And as she was considering her mental state at near the end of her battle with Karin she could not help but wonder whether or not she had interfered with her emotions. And if… had she done it do prevent Anna's awakening or merely to calm her down and get her off her case?

Anna sighed. Thinking about those things would not get her anywhere – and asking Karin probably would not, either. _It's best I give up_ , she thought, _especially after seeing… that_.

Indeed she could remember the state Karin had been in, too. Though she had not been able to sense the Yoki Karin had emitted, she vaguely remembered the gleaming red eyes as well as Karin's back having awakened, or so she phrased it in her thoughts.

She would have loved to just write those things off as hallucinations due to her having been close to awakening, but they seemed too real to ignore them – much more real to her than the army of Yoma and Awakened Beings that clearly had not been there.

There were a lot of questions that she wanted to pose to Karin. And even though Ayame might have been able to answer some, Anna did not have the heart to ask her. She knew that it had been her mission to watch over Karin and that she had been at the site of the battle, probably to interfere with the fight. And since it was Anna who had started it she was content with not being beheaded on the spot.

Also she could tell that Ayame was brooding about what had happened, too. Her gaze had constantly been resting upon Karin for many hours and her eyebrows had been contracted pensively all the time.

Upon realizing that she had been staring at Ayame she instantly looked back at Karin. She could only hope the latter would wake up soon so the awkward silence between her and Ayame would end. Being alone with the Organization's number two was sending chills down her spine.

Ayame's gaze out of half-opened eyes was, despite resting on Karin Lanzelot, seeming to go right through her. Why had Lady Astarte revealed herself? She had always been emphasizing how only a few chosen people were allowed to know of her existence and what she actually was, including Lorenz and the four warriors she had selected to be in on her secret, and how it was the most important thing.

Still she had somehow entered Karin's body and hence spread her enormous Yoki all over the place. Admittedly, she had saved her from Anna's attack and supposedly saved her life. And that, so she concluded stopping short, could only mean that Karin Lanzelot was actually more important to her than keeping her existence a secret.

Her wonder about that conclusion was clearly showing in her face, which Anna had indeed noticed. _So you do know more than I know_ , she mused.

Without having become aware of it she had begun staring at Ayame again while she was pondering about whether to talk to her or not.

"What?" Ayame, who had noticed Anna's staring, hissed at her.

"N-nothing!" the latter stumbled and hastily turned her face away.

 _And then there is her_ , Ayame thought deeply. Anna had seen Lady Astarte enter Karin's body, too. She, who had not known about Lady Astarte before, what might she have been thinking?

She, who did not know of her.

 _She, who did not know…_

Her inner self hit her forehead with the palm of her head. Of course Anna did not know about Lady Astarte. Indeed, a lot of beings had sensed her Yoki and many might wonder whose it was, but that did not mean that any of them suddenly had knowledge about Lady Astarte's existence – let alone what meaning her existence held.

Under these circumstances it was not an issue at all. _At times I really am a little slow in the head_ , Ayame thought to herself amusedly.

Still, she wanted to know what Anna was thinking and hence asked: "So, what was wrong with Karin back then?"

Being talked to by number two so suddenly startled Anna and for a moment she was only able to stutter random gibberish. But then she collected herself and answered: "It was strange. Those strands breaking out of her back has happened before, but those red eyes and those voices sounding like many peoples talking all at once… I can't find a word better describing it than strange."

"What do you make of it?" Ayame pressed.

"I don't know," Anna answered truthfully, "that's why I am hoping for Karin to wake up soon. Maybe she knows what happened."

The gaze of number two wandered to Karin again. _Indeed_ , she mused, _what did you notice?_ After all, she had not acted like Ayame had expected Lady Astarte to act. She had expected her to, since she had tried to kill Karin, tear Anna to shreds there and then, especially since she had gone over her limits anyways. Actually, though, she had managed to calm Anna down and make her not awaken. To her that just did not seem like a way of solving a conflict Lady Astarte would have used. It seemed like something a human would have done – and not the leader of an Organization that had infected about 50 continents with Yoma in order to do research that actually was only necessary because Lady Astarte would blow her cover by revealing that she had all of that knowledge already, killing millions in the process.

Ayame feared that it was indeed Karin who had had control over her body most of the time. And that would mean, at least that was what Ayame had figured, that Karin was well aware of another person having infiltrated her body.

 _Damn it_ , Ayame thought, _now I can't wait for you to wake up, either_.

As if she had heard her thoughts Karin suddenly sat up. She stretched thoroughly and yawned loudly, before she blearily scratched her stomach that made a clearly audible rumbling sound. She then became aware of the other two warriors.

"Good morning," she mumbled, still half asleep.

"The sun has set hours ago," Ayame informed her. "How are you?"

"I slept really well, thank you," Karin answered. She blinked a few times to get the sleep out of her eyes and then looked at Ayame. "So, it was you who has been following me all this time?"

The tall warrior had got her there which felt awkward to number two. Strictly speaking it surprised her even more that Karin had actually noticed her following her, especially since not even Risa, the warrior with the sharpest senses, was able to sense her Yoki at all.

Slightly abash she had to confirm Karin's assumption, but added: "Since you're doing your missions properly I don't think that will be necessary anymore – especially since my cover was blown."

"I see," Karin answered and, as if it had never been an issue at all, turned around to Anna and, changing the subject, asked: "Between us things are alright now?"

Anna was perplexed. How Karin was posing that question as if nothing had ever happened made it seem like she did not think of anything that had happened as strange at all. Had the red eyes and her awakened back been her imagination after all? No, she decided, since Ayame had witnessed those things as well. Had it, in the end, been Karin who had not noticed a thing?

Shoving those thoughts aside she answered Karin's question honestly: "Yes, they are. I can now accept that it was Lea's decision to act like she did and that she was well aware of the risk she was taking. Also, after thinking this through thoroughly, I can't see her being happy with me resenting you for it. I apologize."

Karin smiled one of her rare, faint smiles, one of her rare expressions at all showing on her face.

The both of them continued to talk about this and that. Anna let their conversation fade out of her mind as she began to ponder again. Karin seemed to be able to remember what had happened in detail. Also, it seemed to Ayame like Karin assumed that everything her body had done had actually been her doing. So, Ayame concluded, she either did not know that Lady Astarte had taken over her body or she did know but was able to hide it well enough to neither let Anna nor her notice. And since Anna did not pry into it at all Ayame decided to best let the topic rest for the moment.

Ayame laid down on her back and began gazing at the stars. All the important thoughts began to leave her mind, being replaced by less important things. For the time being she would have to wait for instructions from Lorenz, so she decided to stay with Karin for a while. _And who knows_ , she mused, _maybe I will get a chance to talk to you about what has happened…_

###

Karin had just left a village where she had sensed and killed Yoma and was then on her way to look for a place to rest. Out of thin air Ayame appeared next to her and began walking alongside her as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

To Karin, at least, it had become just that, because after she had made up with Anna two weeks before and had ventured back into region 22 Ayame had begun tagging along. Initially it had been Ayame's mission to observe her from a distance, but the circumstances had made it necessary for her to reveal herself. Additionally, she had had her doubts about tailing a warrior she thought of as faultless like Karin from the very beginning. Technically she was only still following her since she had gotten nothing else to do, anyways.

She did, however, not interfere with Karin's mission at all. Not only was it not her job to kill Yoma in region 22, it also was absolutely unnecessary for her to take action. Ayame felt that, after Karin's fight with Anna, she had to put even less effort into her job. _She really is too good for the Inner Circle_ , she thought.

Despite Karin had clearly been influenced by Lady Astarte during her fight with Anna, Ayame had given up on questioning Karin about it. Provided that she was not masterly hiding her knowledge about it it seemed like she actually had not noticed a thing. In the end Ayame had figured that whatever ability Lady Astarte had been using probably made it seem to the one controlled that all her decisions were actually theirs. At least she would not have been surprised by Lady Astarte being able to do something like that, a perfect mind control. _Mindeater Risa_ could also mess with the minds of others, but her victims would notice right afterwards that something had been done to them. And Lady Astarte probably just could do it better which did not surprise Ayame in the slightest.

That in itself left the stale off-taste of her being able to control her mind at anytime, but at that time she really did not want to ponder about that. After all she had, for the first time since ever, something like leisure time – and she thought that that might have been something she could actually get used to.

If only her comrade would have been a little more talkative. Saying something of her own accord practically did not happen and whenever Ayame said something Karin managed to answer in a way that made it impossible for her to react in a way that would make sense and even if, on very rare occasions, something that might have become a conversation in the future occurred between them, Ayame had to forcefully keep it alive. Ayame herself was not known as a talkative person, but her comrade was just terrible in that regard.

Everything she did was doing her missions, sleeping little and eating a lot. And whenever she woke up she did not even bother to wake up Ayame and always set off on her own. It made Ayame wonder whether Karin disliked her. That would have been a letdown, because she had planned to get onto the good side of Lady Astarte's favorite – after all that would definitely not harm her. However, she could probably say goodbye to that.

She settled for Lorenz uncalled for popping out of the woods at some point to give her a new mission of her own. At that moment she also realized how she would probably not get used to having nothing to do for it would probably bore her to death at some point.

"We are being followed," Karin said out of the blue.

It took Ayame a while to assimilate the fact that Karin had just opened her mouth without putting a piece of beef jerky into it whereof she seemed to have the amount fitting into a small storehouse hidden somewhere – at least considering the amounts Ayame could see her eating it had to be like that. After having seen her eating the first pieces Ayame had thought about asking for one. But after having realized how they were merely a snack to Karin that she was eating all day in addition to two to three meals that no normal human could have eaten she had lost her appetite.

She slightly shook her body to get rid of her disgust and then asked: "By whom? I don't sense a thing."

"Two entities, around five hundred meters behind us," Karin answered earnestly. Instinctively Ayame was about to turn around as Karin hissed: "Don't, idiot!"

"Listen here…" Ayame began to complain, but Karin cut her short: "We are walking on a straight way through a valley. So they can see us from their position and they would of course also notice if you turned around."

"I see," Ayame said, "then they would know that we have noticed them. Sorry. But who is it that you sense?"

"Well," Karin asked, "how many warriors are there that you can't sense over five hundred meters?"

Ayame stopped short. She closed her eyes to better focus on her Yoki sensing abilities. Next to her there was the wraithlike trace of a Yoki, Karin's. Other than that there was nothing to sense within two kilometers.

"Two," she answered after some thinking, "but those two surely got better things to do than to follow us."

Then her hearth skipped a beat as she realized that it might indeed have been those two. Like a bad omen the last gaze of the possessed Karin appeared in her mind. She had angered Lady Astarte! But had she actually managed to send those two after her that fast?

"I do not know who you are talking about," Karin tore her out of her thoughts, "but I do not think that they are actually warriors."

Ayame was puzzled. "What do you mean? If you can sense them you should be able to tell!"

"Do not misunderstand," Karin explained calmly, "I can sense their Yoki as little as I can sense yours. It is more like I see the three of you as disturbances in the spreading of my Yoki, much like wave-breakers in the sea. And the two of them cause a disruption different from Yoma, or you."

"Awakened Beings!" Ayame realized.

"That is what I assume," Karin confirmed her comrade's realization.

"Since when have they been following us?" Ayame asked.

"I noticed them yesterday. At first I thought they coincidentally were here, but now I am sure that they are tailing us. They probably assume that we are unable to sense them, otherwise they would pay more attention to differ their movement pattern from ours or at least they would not have come so close. And since both of them have suppressed their Yoki well enough for neither of us to notice but yet are still able to sense us I think it is safe to assume that they are neither Class Three not Class Two Awakened Beings," Karin stated her conclusions.

Ayame pondered about those things. So Karin had noticed them as if her Yoki in itself was an extension of her sensory organs. And those two Awakened Beings travelling together made Ayame gulp. The situation was probably worse than her first apprehension.

"Karin," she addressed her comrade sternly, "as of now we are on a mission. As the higher ranking warrior I am taking command."

"Yes, Captain!" Karin dutifully answered.

"Objective of our mission will be to lose our pursuers. Your assumption that two powerful Awakened Ones are following us is most likely representing reality. Since the two of them seemingly are travelling together which is rare for Awakened Beings and since both of them are at least Class One I will be assuming the worst possible opponent: the _Twinblades_ , Vanessa and Neerie," she explained.

That made Karin's adrenaline level rise. The _Twinblades_ , when together, were considered the most powerful weapon the Organization had ever created, possibly more powerful then the _Ogre_ or the _Mindeater_. If Ayame was right the both of them had somehow aroused the interest of that entity. _Or I have_ , Karin thought bitterly.

"What are we going to do?" Karin asked.

"Firstly," number two explained, "we need to come up with an escape plan."

"How are we going to do that?" Karin asked.

"As follows:" Ayame explained further, "the _Twinblades_ are known for acting spontaneously, not to say planlessly. It might have been pure chance for them to find us and now they might only be following us because they can visually see us. The both of us emit very, very little Yoki. If we manage to create enough distance between us and them we might be able to shake them off. Chances are that they have only been following the trail of vanishing Yoma to get this close to us in the first place. On my command you will begin to run. One hundred and twenty kilometers to the west and one hundred and eighty kilometers to the northwest are villages with Yoma. Imagine a mirror axis between them. Our meeting point is our current location mirrored on this axis. You will take the path through the western village, I will take the path through the northwestern village. We will be covering the distance without stops, as fast as possible. If they catch either of us, we are going to signal it by releasing Yoki. If they catch you, I will come to your aid. If they catch me you take at least two suppressants every six hours for the next week and you will be as invisible as a shadow at night. Got it?"

Karin did not like that plan at all. To split up facing an opponent like that seemed plainly stupid to her. Also it seemed as if the whole purpose of that plan was to get herself out of the line of fire. That much made sense to her for there was no way she could defeat someone of that caliber – but neither should Ayame be able to.

In the end, if her assumptions all were correct, the Awakened Ones were there for her, anyways, and so she thought of it as her duty to face them. However, she did not think that arguing with Ayame would get her anywhere and hence she merely told her that she had understood and that she was ready.

Ayame nodded. "Now!" she shouted and the both of them dashed into the woods like arrows.

Karin dashed through the fortunately clear woods at the breaking point of her legs. As bushes and trees were swiftly passing her she closely kept her inner eye set on the Awakened Ones.

She had been proven right: regardless of whether it had been planned or by chance, the Awakened Beings had been following them. The moment she and Ayame had begun running the both of them had reacted and dashed into the woods, too. However, after heading west and passing Karin about 500 meters to the south they suddenly made a turn towards the north, just to pass merely 100 meters in front of her that time.

Karin stopped for a moment to see what they were doing. After a while she understood that they have obviously just been running around aimlessly and were then settling for human pace again. That meant that they were not able to sense her, after all.

It seemed to be like Ayame had said: sheer coincidence. Apparently they had actually been following the trace of vanishing Yoma.

She respired and set off again. There were still about 200 kilometers of distance to cover before she would reach the meeting point – 4 to 5 hours if she would move as quickly as possible given the circumstances. She sighed and began running.

###

 _All according to plan_ , Ayame thought after barely having moved for about half an hour. She had not sensed Karin's Yoki and hence assumed that the Awakened Beings had not caught her.

About five kilometers around her there was nothing but deep forest. She had carefully searched her surroundings to not be surprised by rivers or lakes, but the vicinity was clear – ideal for her. Only a few minutes after she and Karin had set off she had cleared a nearby village off its Yoma and then had moved about ten kilometers to the north, where she still was waiting.

"You two better get my massage," she said to herself. The bait had been laid out. Then all they needed to do was take it and follow her hint.

Patiently she observed the ground from her place in a treetop to see what was happening, but for a while nothing had happened at all. She had assumed that it would have taken Karin about 2 hours more to cover the distance than it would have taken her, so that was the amount of time she could wait for the Awakened Beings to show up in total. If they would not she would just follow the plan and go to the meeting point.

The moment Karin had spotted the Awakened Ones Ayame had planned to somehow get her to safety and take them on herself. She had already gotten onto Lady Astarte's bad side and hence could not let Karin get killed by them that easily. Also she had no means of telling how exactly the both of them had caught the Awakened Beings' attention and thus had no means of telling whether or not they would actually have been able to shake them off.

Though it had been risky she had decided to test it – with the result of them obviously not being able to sense Karin. Therefore she had decided to go through with her own plan to get their attention without having Karin notice right away. And since she did not believe that Karin would actually hide if she were to release her Yoki – she did not seem to be that kind of person to her – she had come up with an indirect way of getting the Awakened Ones' attention. And if everything went well it would be over before Karin would reach them.

Normally she would never do something as reckless as that. She hoped that she was wrong, but their pursuers could have been the _Twinblades_ , after all. However, since she had angered Lady Astarte, just getting Karin to safety did not seem enough to her. Her chances were, about that she was certain, a little better than god-awful to take one of them down and then getting away blackeyed.

Upon noticing a movement at the ground all her senses instantly sharpened and her eyes were trying to make out the source of her percept. For a second hopes were awakening within her, hopes, that, maybe, it were not the _Twinblades_. However, those hopes died instantly as she spotted a girl in her teens with shoulder-length, curly hair.

Her blood-pressure and hearth-rate rose. It was the former number two, _Twinblade Neerie_.

She still did not seem to have noticed Ayame. Her gaze was literally dashing around in order to search for the second one, but she was unable to spot her. Impulsively she abandoned the idea of looking for Vanessa and decided to go for Neerie first and tried to reach for her claymore. The moment her hand had reached the handle she could feel the firm grasp of another hand around her wrist.

Ayame was startled and sighed. _Shit_ , she thought. "Vanessa, the former number four, I assume."

"Sure am," the Awakened One that was taller than even most of the male warriors had been, answered. Slightly bent forwards she stood behind Ayame, tightly holding the wrist of the hand she had grasped her claymore with.

"How shameful," Ayame remarked, trying to act relaxed, "your little friend got me distracted and so I did not notice you sneaking up on me. You got me there, Vanessa."

"Now'd y'take a look down there?" the overly tall woman said with a lowered voice in order to not have Neerie notice them.

Ayame did as told and had a hard time believing what she saw: like a lost child Neerie was walking around aimlessly, constantly asking: "Nessie, where are you?" The warrior did not quite know what to say.

"Sh'asn't changed since back then," Vanessa admitted, "true millstone 'round y'neck at times. 'Tever the case," she continued, sighed and then got a more serious tone of voice, "I assumed y'can't sense us and knew we can't sense you. So y'd choose a place for an ambush where y'can easily spot us but where we can't easily spot you. Nice idea, by the way, arranging the Yoma's body parts like an arrow. Even Neerie got it after a few minutes."

"She doesn't seem to be the brightest bulb in the chandelier. My condolences," Ayame evinced.

"Y'couldn't figure! She'd get lost in an empty, circular room," the Awakened One complained groaningly.

"Well," Ayame said emotionlessly, "if her head is that useless I might as well chop it off."

Vanessa's grip got tighter and her face darker. She raised her other hand in order to have it dive right through Ayame's torso. "Shut it," she plainly said and shoved her hand down. To her surprise she did not feel anything the moment her hand impaled Ayame's back despite she could clearly see how it was happening. Then, right before her puzzled eyes, Ayame's image was fading away into thin air.

"Owwy!" it echoed from below, having Vanessa startledly look for her comrade. When she spotted her she could see how the latter had raised her arms in defense to cover her neck which Ayame had tried to sever with a swift strike. However, Neerie's arms had blocked the attack successfully.

"Damn it," Ayame hissed as Neerie forcefully pushed her away.

The young Awakened One regarded her lower arms that each had suffered a shallow cut from Ayame's claymore. Her face begun to twitch and the childish naivety in her face was replaced by the drivenness of a sociopath.

"You will regret!" she yelled and unleashed all of her Yoki.

###

Karin abruptly stopped in her tracks upon sensing an enormous Yoki. An Awakened Being, as she instantly noticed. She knew that it was one of the two that had been following her and Ayame and that could only have meant that they somehow had found her. What bothered her was how that Yoki was only about 20 kilometers away from their starting point. Her comrade should have been able to cover a much farther distance.

She pondered about what to do. No matter how much she focused, she could not feel the disturbance that Ayame would cause in her Yoki over that distance. Even the disturbances of the second Awakened Being, which was much greater than Ayame's, she could not sense for she was just too far away.

The plan did not cover the scenario of one of the Awakened Beings showing themselves that clearly. Still, she decided to go there and see for herself what was happening. If Ayame had indeed run into someone with a Yoki that huge she had no choice but to go and help her out.

Getting there would take her about half an hour, so she dashed off instantly. She was hoping strongly that there was some other reason for the Awakened One to show herself – and if it had indeed encountered Ayame she hoped to be there in time to interfere.

###

In awe Ayame observed how Neerie took on her awakened form. She grew tall to a size of almost four meters. Out of her back an exact duplicate of herself grew and both of her bodies were still grown together at their backs. Her four legs distorted and took on a shape that vaguely resembled horse legs. The skin there turned dark gray and became so thin that muscle strands could be seen through it. The balls of her feet turned into black hooves and her toes turned into claws that rearranged themselves around the hooves. The rest of her skin also became gray and thin. The area around her lower spine became so thin that it was barely as thick as a man's thigh, but the muscle tissue around it seemed firm and powerful. Both of her heads grew together at their backside's and above them, at the sectional plane, a jagged, levitating, black semi-circle of a good meter's diameter appeared. Her hair grew back and the skin covering her skulls and faces also went grey and thing, showing what laid beneath, making her a horrible sight.

In the grasps of her four clawed hands she was holding chunks of muscle tissue that were shaped just like the warrior's claymore but that also were significantly longer. Other than her bodily muscles the ones in the claymores were almost black and seemed intensely firm and strong. All four of them had bony growths on both sides that resembled an N with a vertical line crossing through it – the symbol Neerie had used to bear when she had still been a warrior.

Both of Ayame's hands were tightly grasping her claymore's handle. So that was the former number two, _Twinblade Neerie_ , in all her magnificence. Unlike most of the Awakened Beings that had been in high ranks her stature was rather small, hinting towards great speed and agility. The shape of her legs was supporting Ayame's assumption. And as if that was not enough already her body itself, that basically was two bodies always standing back to back, could attack in and defend from all possible directions. The levitating semi-circle floating above her shoulders seemed to be pretty sturdy to her, too, and probably would make it almost impossible to go for the head directly without cutting her way through the rest of her body first.

 _What a pain_ , Ayame thought grimly. _And then there also is…_

"Neerie, y'be alright?" Vanessa shouted down to her from atop the tree she had tried to take out Ayame on.

Upon spotting her Neerie complained: "There you are! Leaving me alone like this, you big old meanie! My head got almost severed, but yeah, I am fine!"

"I leave this to y'then?"

"Sure thing!"

"Good, goin' to look for the other one," Vanessa said and vanished.

Ayame gulped and suited herself. Though she did not expect Vanessa to find Karin anytime soon, there was no time to waste. Her opponent had not only a dangerously looking body but also an amount of Yoki that was unparalleled by most. She had to end that fight as fast as possible.

"This is not going to be fun," she mumbled to herself.

* * *

I hope you all enjoyed it. Astarte has really stirred things up - and this is bis far not the end of it!

Next time former and current number 2 will face off. Also someone else is getting curious about Astarte's Yoki and Ayame will receive punishment.

Look forward to it (end of October)!


End file.
